ASHENEWS reports that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has launched a renovated forensics laboratory in Lagos state.
The lab donated to the agency by the United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) will enhance operational standards and optimal performance of NDLEA in its renewed fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria.
Speaking while commissioning the laboratory on Wednesday, Marwa represented by the Director of Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA said “With this facility, we are now anticipating the provision of state-of-the-art analytical equipment, which will enhance optimal performance in line with standard operational laboratory procedures and best practices, which in turn will enhance evidence-based analytical processes in our forensic analysis.”
Marwa said that the upgrade of the forensic laboratory to the successful fight against illicit drugs in the country.
He noted that the forensic laboratory plays a critical role in the identification of drug exhibits, in the investigation of illicit drug manufacturing, and the dismantling of clandestine laboratories.
“Given the current situation of illicit drugs in Nigeria, a forensic laboratory is sine qua non for any meaningful effort to stymie the problem.
“The reason is obvious. In three decades, Nigeria has grown from a transit country to a country that produces a farrago of new psychoactive substances, NPS, and a place where there is proliferation of clandestine laboratories, of which we have discovered and dismantled over 23.
“Over the last three years that I have been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, there have been seizures of record quantities of illicit drugs, approximately 7, 590 tons.
“What is remarkable about these seizures is that they include not only substances already under national and international control but also an unexpectedly high number of new psychoactive substances and combinations of illicit drugs prepared by chemists working in clandestine laboratories.
“These substances, constituting over 10,000 exhibits, found their way to the forensic laboratory for confirmatory analysis and identification.
“The poor infrastructure of our forensic laboratory translated into inadequacy to cope with the volume of work on the ground. It is against this backdrop that INL intervened to sponsor the upgrading of the laboratory to a global standard and expand its capacity to cope with the challenging dynamics inherent in the analysis of new psychoactive substances, amphetamine-type stimulants, synthetic cannabinoids, and fentanyl opioids.”
On his part, the U.S. Consul General, Will Stevens said that the global opioid crisis calls for a coordinated, comprehensive, and multidisciplinary global response.
He said “This $500,000 investment will ensure our Nigerian partners have the state-of-the-art equipment and training needed to identify and analyze suspicious substances and evidence collected from crime scenes and suspects. We appreciate Nigeria’s strong regional leadership and commitment to work with us to combat this growing threat.”
