OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) have intercepted millions of tramadol 225mg pills, thousands of codeine syrup bottles and bags of Canadian Loud in consignments arriving the country ahead of the Christmas celebration.
Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said in a statement on Sunday that, at the Lagos International Airport, all tricks employed by the drug syndicates to smuggle into the country 7.5 million tramadol 225mg through the NAHCO import shed of the airport were frustrated by NDLEA officers with the cooperation of men of the Nigeria Customs and other stakeholders.
The consignment, which was taken into custody on Friday, 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, it was equally the first of such coming from Hamburg, Germany.
According to the NDLEA spokesman, the 7.5 million 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 conducted a search operation on two shops at the 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 contained 49,200 bottles of codeine syrup and 46, 200 tablets of same opioid.
On December 21, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives raided a house in Mushin area of Lagos where a 70-year-old grandma, Selifat and her son, Babajide (surnames withheld), were arrested with 117.900 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa.
He said 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 December 20 and that NDLEA sniffer dogs were deployed to examine the spare parts.
The dogs were able to identify the particular shipment containing the illicit drug concealment, which a physical examination later confirmed to be cocaine measuring 200grammes.
Also, not less than 70 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, with a gross weight of 35 kilogrammes were seized by operatives of the Tincan command of NDLEA from a container coming from Toronto via Montreal, Canada.
The container contained four used vehicles, including a Honda CRV 2006 model, where bags of the psychoactive substance were concealed.
In the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, NDLEA operatives on December 18, intercepted a waybill consignment of 25,000 pills of tramadol, while their counterparts in Anambra arrested two suspects at Onitsha headbridge.
One of the suspects, Ejiro (surname withheld), was driving a bus conveying 61,100 tramadol capsules; 1,025 bottles of codeine; 1,350 tablets of rohypnol and 46grammes of designer drug, while the other suspect, Daniel (surname withheld), was caught in a bus conveying 55,950 tramadol capsules; 3,117 bottles of codeine; 1,530 tablets of swinol and 1,350 tablets of rohypnol.
Operatives in Delta State, on December 18, in a joint operation with the military, raided the home of a drug kingpin, Chukwuma (surname withheld) at Okanaro Street, Abbi town, where bags of cannabis weighing 353 kilogrammes were recovered.
Same day, NDLEA operatives in Enugu recovered bags of cannabis sativa weighing 435.1 kilogrammes in a warehouse located at Trans Ekulu, Enugu East Local Government Area.
In Edo State, the statement said five persons dressed in NDLEA operational jackets were arrested with a fabricated gun and pistol carved from wood following intelligence that they were impersonating as officers of the agency and conducting illegal operations.
While some others in NDLEA jackets escaped, a bottle of codeine-based syrup was found with those arrested.
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