No fewer than 2.7 million tablets of Tramadol 225mg weighing 1,650 kilograms worth N1.3 billion have been intercepted at the Apapa port in Lagos State by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
This was disclosed via a statement issued and made available to The Star on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi stated that the consignment packed in 55 cartons of Tapentadol and Carisoprodol types of Tramadol was seized at the port in Lagos during examination of a container number SUDU 7538656 on Saturday, July 30, following credible intelligence.
He noted that the seizure came on the heels of similar efforts by the anti-narcotic officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos State, that thwarted bids by drug traffickers to export various psychoactive substances to London, United Kingdom, and Dubai through the Lagos airport in the past week.
The anti-drug agency spokesman stated that no fewer than five suspects have since been arrested in connection to the attempts.
Babafemi added that a Dubai-bound passenger Ms. Ebhodaghei Gloria Osenemeshen, was intercepted on Monday, July 25, during the outward clearance of travellers on Rwanda Air via Kigali to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
He disclosed that sachets of Tramadol 225mg concealed inside garri, a cassava product packed among other foodstuffs were discovered in the suspect’s luggage.
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“She however claimed that the bag was given to her by someone who she passed the night in his house before coming to the airport to help deliver to another person in Dubai,” he stated.
The NDLEA spokesperson noted that on Tuesday, July 26, a total of 50 blocks of cannabis sativa with a total weight of 27.1kg concealed inside large quantity of crayfish going to London as part of a consolidated cargo were seized at the SAHCO export shed.
Babafemi said Dubai-bound female passenger, Emebradu Previous Rachael, was also arrested on Tuesday with 1.8kg cannabis packed inside bitter leaf in her luggage while attempting to board Rwanda Air flight to UAE via Kigali.
According to him, the mother of one who hails from Oghara in Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State said she was into selling of mens wears before she decided to travel to Dubai to expand her clothing business. She claimed her ex-boyfriend that lives in Dubai, requested her to bring the bag, which contains the illicit substance along with foodstuff.
He added that the anti-narcotic officers at the NAHCO import shed of the airport evacuated cartons of khat leaf with a total weight of 51.50kg on Saturday, noting that the consignment had earlier come in from Sierra Leone on Royal Air Moroc flight.
In his reaction to the arrests and seizures, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the anti-narcotic officers for their vigilance and commitment.
Marwa further urged them and their colleagues across the country not to rest on their oars but remain resolute in pursuit of the agency’s goal of ridding Nigeria of illicit substances.
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