The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has seized 143.8 million tablets of Tramadol imported into Nigeria from India, weighing 10,386kg and mixed with cartons of sweet candies.
The Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, in a statement released on Sunday, said the drug, of 225mg specification, was intercepted in collaboration with other security agencies, particularly the Nigerian Customs Service, on March 31, 2023, during a joint examination of two containers marked TRHU 4758549 and TRHU 6936803, wherein the 225mg Tramadol was discovered in 720 cartons.
This was as operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations, NDLEA, also intercepted a cargo containing 1.5kg cocaine concealed in a carton declared to contain hair cream, shampoo, hair rollers and burners going to London, United Kingdom, at a courier firm in Lagos.
In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives on March 27 also raided Dan Wata village, Soba Local Government Area, where Abdurrashid Musa, 33, was arrested with 142.8kg cannabis, while the principal suspect, Ibro Danwata, is still at large.
Babafemi also noted that another suspect, Shamsu Abdullahi (aka Waja), 35, was arrested the following day during a follow-up operation at Rigasa Kaduna after he had abandoned 80,000 tablets of Diazepam weighing 13.4kg and escaped arrest earlier.
Meanwhile, no less than 63 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 600kg stored in a house at Okpe village in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State were recovered on March 31.
Babafemi said, “The recovery was made when operatives raided the area, while a raid of a warehouse owned by one Shehi Mallam at tomatoes market, Dei Dei, Abuja same day led to the seizure of 80 sacks of cannabis sativa weighing 842.4 kilograms.
“In Cross River State, 12,000 pills of Tramadol 225mg were seized from a female passenger, Talatu Adamu, 46, when NDLEA officers intercepted the commercial bus she was travelling in along Ogoja/Katsina-Ala Road on March 27.
“Also, a suspect, Abraham Alaigwu, was arrested at Slaughter, Trans/Amadi area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State with 91.7kg of cannabis on March 30, while 228kg of the same substance was seized from Ayodele Osuya, 35, in a Toyota Camry car around Quarter Guard area of Akure, Ondo State.”
