Accra, Oct 21, GNA - Mr Roger Vanderpuije, Greater Accra Regional Commander of the Narcotics Control Board has indicated the readiness of his outfit to tackle the menace of illegal drugs head-on at various communities.
This, he said would need the use of new strategies that would either eliminate or reduce the sale and use of such drugs.
Mr Vanderpuije who stated this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Monday said the new approach would tackle landlords, landladies and landowners who allowed such dealers to pitch camps on their parcels of land or property.
“We will first of all identify such locations and hold discussions with the landlords, landladies and landowners and give them time to get the miscreants off their lands, after which we will strike and destroy their habitats.”
Mr Vanderpuije said they were tackling the ghettos and other hideouts because it was difficult for the dealers to ply their trade in open places, and gave the assurance that they would also liaise with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to weed out the peddlers throughout the country.
He said the previous strategies of having morning swoops to arrest and prosecute the peddlers were not working as most of them returned after some weeks, indicating that dealing with land owners would give them the opportunity to chase them out of their property completely.
He said in identifying the locations, names of landlords and landowners, house addresses and area codes would be recorded to ensure that the right things were done for the benefit of all in the country.
The Commander promised to write to alert the security services, courts and other related organisations on the happenings on those lands and compel the landlords and owners to be vigilant on the movement of such peddlers.
“Most of the Ghettos in Accra and other cities are located in unused lands, where they create their habitats and so taking over those lands will make things difficult for such people to survive on their trade.”
Mr Vanderpuije mentioned areas such as Nima, Maamobi, Newtown, Tudu and Accra Central as some of the areas that were habouring drug peddlers and other related crimes adding that it was difficult to eliminate them from the areas because of the property they were occupying.
He said although the Board was carrying out a number of educational programmes against the use of the drugs, proponents for the legalization of drugs such as marijuana were quite influential and overshadowing their sensitization programmes.
He appealed to landowners and landlords to cooperate with them to achieve the goal of eliminating the sale and use of illicit drugs in the system.
GNA
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