The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of 250mg tramadol concealed in specially modified compartments of two articulated trucks in a major crackdown on drug trafficking.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the operation was based on credible intelligence and formed part of ongoing efforts to dismantle a drug trafficking network.
Babafemi disclosed that the latest seizure comes just days after NDLEA operatives recovered 558,900 tramadol pills from another truck travelling along the same route. The combined seizures have pushed the total number of tramadol pills intercepted from the suspected syndicate in recent operations to more than 2.18 million.
He added that one of the trucks, which was transporting the illicit drugs to Kano, was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway during the intelligence-driven operation.
Operatives discovered 853,000 pills of tramadol (250mg) hidden in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor and arrested the driver.
A second truck was tracked and intercepted on the same expressway on July 4 while also en route to Kano. Officers recovered 777,000 pills of tramadol (250mg) concealed in a similar compartment beneath the trailer’s cargo floor and arrested another driver.
Investigations by the agency revealed that the three trucks intercepted on June 21, July 2 and July 4 belonged to the same transnational drug trafficking network smuggling illicit drugs from Togo through the Benin Republic into Nigeria.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, intercepted two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing a combined 4.7 kilograms.
The consignments, which arrived from Canada aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on June 24 and July 3, were concealed in cartons labelled “Odugwu.”
The agency said investigations led to the arrest of cargo agents linked to the shipments, as well as another suspect who attempted to collect the consignments from a logistics company. Further investigations resulted in the arrest of the alleged owner of the drugs in collaboration with the Nigeria Police.
Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives in Rivers State arrested an 80-year-old man allegedly involved in the distribution of illicit substances after he was found in possession of 800 grams of skunk during an operation in Ahoada on July 14.
In Edo State, a couple was arrested following a raid on an alleged drug warehouse along Sapele Road in Benin City. The operation led to the seizure of 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5 kilograms and compressed blocks of Canadian Loud weighing 192.67 kilograms.
Meanwhile, operatives also arrested two suspects in Lagos following the seizure of 50,000 pills of tramadol (225mg) in Kogi State on July 12. The agency said investigations linked the consignment to the suspects, who were subsequently tracked and apprehended in the Apapa area of Lagos.
Beyond enforcement operations, the NDLEA said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign across the country, delivering sensitisation lectures in secondary schools in Katsina, Enugu, Lagos, Rivers, Ekiti and Kano states as part of efforts to educate young people on the dangers of drug abuse.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers of the agency’s commands in Lagos, Rivers, Edo and Kogi for the arrests and seizures, describing the operations as significant contributions to the country’s ongoing drug control efforts.
He urged personnel to remain vigilant in sustaining the fight against illicit drug trafficking and abuse.
