The NDLEA Commander in the state, Sule Momodu who disclosed this on Tuesday at a press conference in Awka, the Anambra State capital believes that there is a correlation between the supply of the substance and the level of violence in elections.
He said the raid was a pre-emptive measure to take away the substance out of the reach of the youths during the polls.
Momodu said 20 suspects were arrested during the exercise, saying that the NDLEA would ensure that any person arrested in such circumstance would be made to face the law.
He said,” Since there is no crime without drug, we have started raiding smoking joints in the state ahead of the elections.
“It has been a common practice for politicians to procure drugs for their thugs during elections, so we have commenced this exercise to ensure that there will be no place to obtain or smoke such drugs during the elections.
“Sometimes they don’t come back after our raid; sometimes they do. We want to tell them that drug is not the way of life.
“We intend to work in conjunction with the Operation Python dance III to discourage this cankerworm.”
While warning politicians to desist from misleading the youths by procuring drugs for them during elections, Momodu said any politician caught in such act would be punished accordingly.
“We can raid private houses of politicians if it is established that crime is committed there. We intend to work in conjunction with the Operation Python Dance III for this purpose. Politicians don’t have immunity. Anybody arrested will face the full force of the law; we will ensure the sledgehammer falls on such culprit.
“We will increase operations to ‘starve’ this youth of this drug by ensuring that they won’t have a place to smoke it and a place to obtain it.
“What we are telling our politicians is to leave our young men alone. Drug is not a way of life”, Momodu stated.
