By Kazeem Waris
Two suspected drug dealers have been convicted in Kano State for allegedly exposing 43 underage children to intoxicating substances, the state Multi-Agency Task Force on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking has said.
The task force said the convictions were part of a wider crackdown on drug abuse and criminality in the state, which resulted in more than 380 arrests and over 230 convictions within two months.
Chairman of the task force, Muhuyi Magaji Rimin Gado, disclosed this on Tuesday while briefing journalists on the activities of the committee since its inauguration by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
According to him, the two convicted dealers, Kabiru Isa, popularly known as Mada, and Usman Hamisu, also known as Mani, allegedly supplied rubber solution and other intoxicating substances to children working as street scavengers.
He said the dealers allegedly paid the children with the substances instead of properly compensating them for their services.
Rimin Gado said the 43 children had been rescued and were receiving medical care and counselling, while efforts were ongoing to trace their families.
“The 43 underage children rescued have since undergone medical check-ups and are currently receiving counselling and treatment, while we continue to search for their families,” he said.
He added that some of the children had already been reunited with their families.
The task force chairman said joint enforcement operations across the state had also led to the dismantling of several drug joints where, according to him, people gathered to abuse drugs before allegedly engaging in thuggery, phone snatching and other crimes.
The operations covered areas including Race Course, Filin Idi, Filin Mahaha, Tashar Rami, Kawo and Tashar Rimi.
He said more than 380 suspects were arrested during the operations, while various illicit substances were recovered, including cannabis, Exol-5, Diazepam, Pentazocine injections, methamphetamine-based substances, Tramadol, Suck and Die, rubber solution and Pregabalin capsules.
Security operatives also recovered locally made weapons, including knives, cutlasses, daggers and clubs, allegedly used by suspected drug dealers and thugs.
“Their recovery has significantly reduced the capacity of these criminals to inflict harm on our communities,” Rimin Gado said.
870,000 Pregabalin capsules seized
Rimin Gado also raised concerns over the alleged diversion of controlled medicines from legitimate pharmaceutical supply chains.
He disclosed that about 870,000 Pregabalin capsules were seized from one of the state’s leading pharmaceutical companies after they were allegedly diverted for illegal use.
He said the development constituted a violation of federal and state regulations governing pharmaceutical warehouse operations.
The task force chairman warned pharmaceutical companies, pharmacy managers, superintendent pharmacists and other staff to strengthen their internal controls and cooperate with ongoing investigations.
“No one will be spared if found culpable,” he warned.
He also disclosed that a former chairman of Rogo Local Government Area, Yahuza Musa, had been charged before a competent court over the alleged illegal administration of Pentazocine to a 63-year-old woman.
According to him, another complainant, a 24-year-old man, alleged that he spent more than N10 million and surrendered a plot of land to purchase the same injection from the former council chairman.
Rimin Gado said the case was still pending before the court.
The task force also announced convictions involving alleged members of DABA gangs, including Abdullahi Ahmad, alias Horror; Abubakar Sada, popularly known as Daburi; Abdullahi Sani, also known as Sarki Ale; and Umar Aliyu.
Rimin Gado said some of the suspects had allegedly used social media to defend or promote criminal activities.
“We assure the public that their convictions will serve as a deterrent to all those who think that drug abuse and mindless thuggery is business as usual,” he said.
Phone-snatching syndicate busted
The task force also announced the arrest and conviction of a suspected member of the “Yan Liya” phone-snatching syndicate, which allegedly uses commercial tricycles to steal mobile phones.
According to Rimin Gado, the suspect’s tricycle was forfeited after he allegedly confessed to involvement in numerous phone thefts.
He alleged that some tricycle owners knowingly made their vehicles available for criminal activities because of the higher payments they received.
“I am issuing a warning to tricycle owners who knowingly release their machines for criminality. The Task Force will not only arrest the rider but will secure forfeiture of the tricycle itself,” he said.
The task force said it had also intensified drug-prevention campaigns in communities, schools, markets and religious centres across the state.
Rimin Gado disclosed that about 125 people had been referred to the Kano Reformatory Institute in Kiru for rehabilitation, describing drug abuse as a sickness requiring treatment and rehabilitation.
He said increasing demand for rehabilitation had filled the Kiru facility to capacity, prompting Governor Yusuf to provide an additional rehabilitation centre in Tofa Local Government Area.
“Our target is to sweep 10,000 youths off the streets, rehabilitate them, and train them in skills acquisition, so that they can go back into society fully informed, reformed, and as people of trust and confidence to the community,” Rimin Gado said.
