The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency set ablaze 560,068.31 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs at a ceremony in the Badagry area of Lagos State on Thursday 4 August 2022, the largest quantity destroyed in the agency’s 32-year history.[1][2] Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, retired, led officers, other security agencies and members of the public at the burning, calling it a warning that drug barons would keep losing their investments.[1][2]
Of the burned stock, 311,416.19 kilograms was cannabis sativa, alongside cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ephedrine, khat, tramadol and other psychotropic substances.[1][2] The drugs had been seized by the Murtala Mohammed International Airport command, the Lagos State command and the Seme Special Area command from convicted and sentenced traffickers as well as abandoned consignments.[1][2] Marwa said the agency had arrested more than 17,647 drug offenders and secured 2,385 convictions since January 2021, seizing over 3.5 million kilograms of drugs in that period.[1]
