The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in specially constructed compartments of two long trailers and dismantled part of a transnational drug trafficking network operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.
The agency disclosed that the operation followed the seizure of 558,900 tramadol pills hidden in a truck that entered Nigeria through the same route barely a week earlier.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA said one of the trailers was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while heading to Kano.
According to the statement, operatives recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol (250mg) concealed beneath the cargo floor of the truck and arrested the 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru.
“Ongoing efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo, through the Benin Republic, into Nigeria have yielded another success with the interception of two long trailers used to move 1,630,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in fabricated compartments of the trucks across multiple borders into Lagos,” Babafemi said.
He explained that the latest operation came just days after officers recovered another 558,900 tramadol pills from a truck that entered Lagos through the same route.
Babafemi further disclosed that a second trailer was intercepted on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on July 4, leading to the recovery of an additional 777,000 pills of tramadol concealed in another secret compartment.
The driver, 22-year-old Muhammed Nuhu, was subsequently arrested.
Investigations, according to the agency, revealed that the consignments intercepted on June 21, July 2 and July 4 belonged to the same international drug trafficking syndicate.
In a related operation, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos intercepted two consignments of Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 4.70 kilogrammes.
READ ALSO:NDLEA uncovers illicit drug consignments in water purifier machines
The shipments, which arrived from Canada aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on June 24 and July 3 respectively, were concealed inside cartons labelled “Odugwu.”
The agency arrested two cargo agents, Ali Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, before apprehending another suspect, Edeh Stanislus, who allegedly attempted to collect the consignments.
Babafemi added that the alleged owner of the drugs, 44-year-old businesswoman Chioma Nneka Mokeme, was arrested on July 7 with the support of the Nigeria Police Area C Command in Surulere, Lagos.
“Chioma, who claimed she is in the printing business, said her friend, Agbons Collins, who lives in Canada, introduced her to the criminal trade,” the statement said.
Elsewhere, the NDLEA arrested an 80-year-old suspect, Chika Ugwoji, in Ahoada, Rivers State, on July 14 after he was allegedly found in possession of 800 grammes of skunk.
“NDLEA operatives in Rivers State have arrested an 80-year-old grandpa, Chika Ugwoji, for dealing in illicit substances. The octogenarian was found in possession of 800 grammes of skunk at the time of his arrest,” Babafemi stated.
In Edo State, operatives raided an alleged drug warehouse along Sapele Road in Benin City, arresting a couple, Christian Chukwuka, 32, and Nwanneka Christian, 33.
The operation resulted in the seizure of 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5 kilogrammes, as well as 192.67 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud.
The agency also arrested a Chadian national, Hajara Abdullahi, 38, and her Nigerian accomplice, Abdulkarim Jidda, 44, in Lagos after tracing them to a consignment of 50,000 tramadol pills intercepted in Kogi State on July 12.
Commending officers involved in the various operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, retired Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, said the agency’s sustained enforcement efforts were producing positive results in the fight against drug trafficking.
“Their efforts and those of their compatriots across the country have contributed in no small measure to ongoing drug control efforts across the country,” Marwa said, urging operatives to remain vigilant.
