Nigeria’s Anti-narcotic Agency, the National Drugs Laws Enforcement Agency NDLEA has intercepted over seven million tramadol 225mg pills, thousands of codeine syrup bottles in consignments arriving the country ahead of the Christmas celebration.
A press statement by the agency’s spokesperson Mr Femi BabaFemi disclosed that all efforts by the drug syndicates to smuggle them into the country through the NAHCO import shed of the at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos were frustrated by NDLEA officers with the cooperation of men of the Nigeria Customs and other stakeholders.
He said, the consignment which was taken into custody on Friday 22nd December came onboard Turkish airline with no country of manufacture or origin.
Apart from being the first time such shipment would be seized on the airline’s flight, BabaFemi explained, it was equally the first of such coming from Hamburg, Germany.
“The 7.5million tramadol 225mg pills were also specially designed and packaged as tamol-x concealed in 100 big cartons weighing 7,150kg, which arrived the country on 11th December and placed under surveillance until last Friday. Preliminary test of the tablets proved positive to tramadol hydrochloride.”
In the same vein, operatives of the Lagos Command of the Agency on Wednesday 20th December conducted a search operation on two shops marked Chex Mat Global Link Limited at Trade Fair complex in Ojo area of Lagos where 258 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup and eight cartons of codeine tablets were recovered.
“The cartons contain: 49, 200 bottles of codeine syrup and 46, 200 tablets of same opioid.”
“The following day Thursday 21st December, NDLEA operatives raided a house in Mushin area of Lagos where a 70-year-old grandma, Selifat Funke Cole and her son, Babajide Ayorinde Cole were arrested with 117.900kg of cannabis sativa.
“A consignment of spare parts that originated from Asaba, Delta state and going to Malviya Nagar, New Delhi, India was intercepted at the cargo terminal of the Lagos airport on Wednesday 20th December.
“NDLEA sniffer dogs were deployed to examine the spare parts. The dogs were able to identify the particular shipment containing illicit drug concealment, which a physical examination later confirmed to be cocaine measuring 200grams.
“Also, not less than 70 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, with a gross weight of 35kg were seized by operatives of the Tincan Command of NDLEA from a container, marked BEAU 4993525 coming from Toronto via Montreal, Canada.”
BabaFemi disclosed that, the container contained four used vehicles, including a Honda CRV 2006 model, where bags of the psychoactive substance were concealed.
Similar arrests and seizures were made by the NDLEA operatives in Edo, Anambra, Enugu, Delta and FCT.
While commending the efforts of the officers and men of the affairs commands, the Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa urged them and their compatriots across the country to remain vigilant and get ready for the next phase of operations in the new year.
Meanwhile, the Commands across the country balanced their drug supply reduction operations with War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaigns to schools, markets, worship centres and communities.
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