The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) seizes 8.3 million tramadol capsules, 56,782 codein bottles In major raids in Lagos, the National Drug Laws Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) seized 8,381,600 tramadol capsules and tablets, as well as 56,782 bottles of codeine.
Mr Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA, made the statement on Sunday in Abuja.
Drug cartels’ desperate attempts to distribute millions of illicit drug tablets across Lagos and other parts of the country for the festive season, according to Babafemi, were thwarted by the agency.
He cited retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, the Chairman of the NDLEA, as ordering a sustained surveillance on some targets in Lagos’ Satellite Town and Alaba Rago areas.
The Satellite Town target was eventually raided on Thursday, December 23, when the drug kingpin, Ezekiel Ibe, was apprehended, according to Babafemi.
Over five tons of high milligram Tramadol, 225mg and 100mg, were recovered from his warehouse, according to him.
“The seized drug was broken down into 7,991,600 Tramadol tablets and 390,000 Tramadol capsules, weighing 5,468.894 kilograms,” he said.
Surajo Mohammed was arrested in another raid on Dec. 20, following tasking surveillance in a notorious neighborhood in Lagos’ Alaba Rago, Alaba area.
According to Babafemi, the suspect was arrested with 941.14 kilograms of cannabis, and 56,782 bottles of codeine were seized from the store of another drug lord who is still on the loose.
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Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives have arrested Amaka Ogonachukwu, 22, for attempting to smuggle cocaine wrapped in cooked white rice for her boyfriend, Monday Imagbebenikaro, 40, who is currently in the custody of the Edo command.
Imagbebenikaro was previously arrested along airport road in Benin City, Oredo LGA, for dealing in crack cocaine, Cannabis Sativa, and Danabel, according to Babafemi (Anabolic steroids).
In a related development, Ovire Cyril, an outbound passenger on Turkish Airlines bound for Italy, was apprehended with 114 wraps of heroin weighing 1.80kg during a routine search at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
The drugs were hidden inside the pockets of four jean trousers and packed in a black suitcase, according to Babafemi.
He claimed that the suspect, who confessed to the crime after losing his job, claimed he was promised 5,000 euros if he successfully delivered the consignment in Italy.
“On the same day, a male passenger, Osakue Evbuomwan, traveling to Milan, Italy, was arrested with 1.55kg of tramadol concealed in a ‘Ghana must go’ bag,” he said.
According to Babafemi, the NDLEA boss praised the agency’s Lagos, Edo, and MMIA commands’ commanders, officers, and men for not letting down their guard during the festive season.
Marwa assured them, as well as their counterparts in other commands, that exemplary performance would always be rewarded by his leadership.
He exhorted them to stay focused and to strive to outperform previous achievements.
