Lagos (Commonwealth Union)_Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have thwarted the tramadol drug cartel’s frantic attempts to smuggle into Nigeria over 2,465 000 tablets of the pharmaceutical opioid in the dosages of 225 mg and 250 mg, weighing 2,356kg with an estimated street value of N1,040,000,000,000 through the Lagos Airport.
Following reliable information, the Agency expressed interest in the shipment of 52 cartons that arrived in Nigeria from Karachi, Pakistan on an Ethiopian Airlines flight with six different airway bills. These cartons contained 45 cartons of 225mg pills with the brand name Tramaking and seven cartons of 250mg pills under the name Tamral. The 52 cartons of the seized substance, which are above the recommended threshold for medical use and are prohibited in the country, were moved to the Agency’s facility shortly after the consignment arrived at the Lagos airport, according to NDLEA spokesman Mr. Femi Babafemi. After the agency requested a joint examination of the consignment with other stakeholders and its information was confirmed by all, he added in a statement.
The mastermind of the shipment, Ifeanyi Egbuwaohia, has been detained in the Igando neighborhood of Lagos, weeks after NDLEA agents discovered 5.20kg of cannabis hidden in kegs of palm oil headed to Dubai. Although Ifeanyi is employed as a technician at Computer Village in Ikeja, he is also involved in a drug network there, sending illegal substances there for distribution.
A few hours after his detention, authorities at the airport also stopped another shipment of the same material, weighing 2.60kg, that he had sent for export to Dubai. Two people, Olatunji Kehinde Temiola and Osemojoye Femi Sunday, have been detained in connection with the shipment of 1.30kg of cannabis hidden in rebuilt engine blocks that was headed for Dubai. The shipment was also intercepted at the SAHCO export yard. A female drug dealer named Peace Ayuba was detained in Kaduna state on Friday at Kakau Gonin Gora with 78 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 849.5kg, and Onyeka Owo was detained in Sokoto state with 443 bottles of syrup with a codeine basis.
