AYV News, October 15, 2025
Between 2024 and 2025, over four hundred and sixty-five people are arrested and prosecuted for drug possession.
Director of Drug Prevention, Education and Training at the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ibrahim Samuel Dugba, said of the four hundred and sixty-five people, were three hundred and seventy-two males and ninety-three females.
Giving the statistics, Ibrahim Samuel Dugba said eighty-three people were arrested with Cannabis Sativa (Jamba), twenty-four people with Cocaine, five with Heroine, three hundred and three with Kush, three with Captagon and thirty-three withTramadol/Ecstasy.
He said the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has also confiscated machines and equipment use to process these substances, including 200.6kg, 8 equipment, and 10 cases weight of 192.47kg. He said all at arrested machines and equipment are currently with the Transnational Organized Crime Unit (TOCU) for investigation, while arrested persons are helping the Sierra Leone Police with investigations.
In recent years, drug use has significantly increased in Sierra Leone, especially among young people, prompting the government to declare a national emergency. The crisis is heavily driven by the highly addictive synthetic drug called ‘Kush’, which is mixed with multiple substances.
The drug driving the crisis is a lethal combination of marijuana, fentanyl, and tramadol. Reports also indicate the possible inclusion of acetone, formalin, and, in some cases, ground human bones.
The affordability and accessibility of Kush have contributed to a social crisis, causing numerous deaths and severe psychiatric harm.
In April 2024, President Julius Maada Bio declared a national emergency on substance abuse, with a specific focus on the Kush crisis. A national task force has since been established.
Police have ramped up their efforts, conducting raids, arresting drug lords, and destroying large quantities of illicit substances, including Tramadol and Kush.
