The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has busted another Tramadol cartel with the seizure of millions of opioids pills and bottles worth over N5billion from a warehouse in Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos State.
The NDLEA operatives also arrested two of the kingpins in connection to the illicit drugs.
Also, the anti-narcotics agency uncovered and dismantled a clandestine skuchies laboratory in a remote part of Sagamu, Ogun State, where several equipment and various quantities of illicit substances used to mass produce the dangerous new psychoactive substance were recovered on Saturday, January 14, 2023.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in statement on Sunday, said: “the drug cartels took the first heat on Tuesday 10th January from determined officers of the agency who intercepted an imported consignment of Loud, a strong variant of cannabis, weighing 4, 878.72 kilograms along Awolowo road Ikoyi, Lagos.
“After a near fatal encounter with some suspected fake security agents escorting the drugs, the NDLEA operatives succeeded in recovering the consignment with a white truck marked BDG 548 XX conveying it.”
This was followed by the seizure of 121,630 pills of pharmaceutical opioids and some quantity of Molly from a dealer, Charles Okeke, on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 at Idumota area of Lagos Island.
The NDLEA further said another effort by the agency to bring the drug cartels to their kneels paid off on Friday, January 13 when operatives tracked and located a major warehouse for pharmaceutical opioids at 17 Sir Ben Onyeka street, off Ago palace way in Amuwo Odofin area of the State while the owner of the store, Aloysius Okeke, was arrested.
Babafemi added, “Illicit drugs recovered from the warehouse include: 3,264,630 pills of tramadol; 3,490 bottles of codeine and 915,000 capsules of pregabalin 300mg.
“This came on the heels of the arrest of a suspect, Olarenwaju Lawal Wahab who distributes for the cartel same day. Recovered from his white Mercedes distribution bus include: 14,690 bottles of codeine-based syrup; 402, 500 tablets of Tramadol 250mg; 50,000 tablets of Tramadol 225mg and 210,000 capsules of pregabalin 300mg.”
Also, in neighbouring Ogun State, operatives in the early hours of Saturday, January 14, 2023, also discovered and dismantled a clandestine laboratory on the outskirts of Sagamu from where skuchies, a highly potent psychoactive substance made with a blend of Cannabis Sativa, Tramadol, Rohypnol, Exol-5 and industrial codeine, was being produced in large quantity, packaged and distributed in jerry cans and bottles.
The NDLEA said all the equipment for the production including power generators, industrial gas cylinders, drums and kegs as well as various quantities of illicit drugs such as 214kgs cannabis; 1,440 capsules of tramadol; 480 tablets of swinol; 1,440 tablets of Rohypnol and 114 liters of industrial codeine, among others were recovered from the building before sealing off the premises.
