The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) will go after owners and operators of supermarkets and confectionery selling cookies, biscuits and other products laced with illicit substances.
Rtd Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa gave the warning while receiving a further briefing on follow-up operations from the Commander, NDLEA in the FCT, Mohammed Sokoto over the arrest of a 300-level university student, Rhoda Agboje and her boyfriend, Ifeanyi Nwankwo.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that both suspects who were arrested on Tuesday specialise in producing and selling drug cookies to school children, clubs and supermarkets in Abuja.
Marwa gave the warning in a statement by the agency’s Director Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi on Friday in Abuja.
”The NDLEA will henceforth go after supermarkets as part of preventive measures.
”This includes, clubs, confectionery and other outlets and their owners, selling cookies, biscuits, cakes and other products laced with illicit substances under whatever guise.
”We will not shy away from hitting their production spots, supply and sales outlets before they get into the hands of innocent schoolchildren, unsuspecting members of the public and even our vulnerable young men and women.
“We will not rest on this until we chase them out of this criminal business. This is why I want to seize this opportunity to warn owners and operators of supermarkets, clubs and other sales outlets to clean their stores of these illicit substances before we get to them, ” he said.
Marwa said the cookies in Abuja laced with drugs were packaged in designed paper wraps under the name “Function” with its motto as “function right with every bite.”
He said that at the back of the package was a quote the suspects attributed to God to justify their illicit trade quoting as “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seeds, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you, it shall be for food.”
NAN