NDLEA Thwarts Yuletide Drug Smuggling With Massive Seizures Across Nigeria

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully foiled several attempts by drug cartels to flood Nigerian communities with illicit substances during the festive season. Millions of Tramadol tablets, codeine syrup bottles, and even Canadian Loud cannabis were intercepted in various operations across the country.

Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, in a statement on Sunday, December 24, 2023, disclosed that the Agency intercepted millions of tramadol 225mg pills, thousands of codeine syrup bottles, and bags of Canadian Loud in consignments arriving in the country ahead of the Christmas celebration.

At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA officers, in collaboration with men of the Nigeria Customs and other stakeholders, foiled the tricks employed by drug syndicates to smuggle 7.5 million tramadol 225mg pills through the NAHCO import shed. The consignment, arriving on a Turkish airline, lacked any country of manufacture or origin. Packaged as tamol-x and concealed in 100 large cartons, weighing 7,150kg, this shipment marked the first time such a large quantity of tramadol was seized on the airline’s flight, originating from Hamburg, Germany. Preliminary tests confirmed the tablets as tramadol hydrochloride.

Operatives of the Lagos Command searched two shops in the Trade Fair complex, Ojo, Lagos, recovering 258 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup and eight cartons of codeine tablets. The recovered cartons contained 49,200 bottles of codeine syrup and 46,200 tablets of the same opioid.

Additionally, a raid on a house in Mushin, Lagos, led to the arrest of a 70-year-old grandmother, Selifat Funke Cole, and her son, Babajide Ayorinde Cole, in possession of 117.900kg of cannabis sativa.

In separate interceptions, NDLEA operatives confiscated 200 grams of cocaine hidden within spare parts destined for New Delhi, India, and seized 70 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, from a container at the Tincan Command.

The Agency’s operations extended to other states, including the FCT Abuja, where a waybill consignment of 25,000 pills of tramadol was intercepted, and Anambra, where two suspects were apprehended at the Onitsha head bridge with a cache of tramadol capsules, codeine bottles, Rohypnol tablets, and designer drugs.

In Delta State, a joint operation with the military led to the recovery of 353kg of cannabis from the home of a drug kingpin in Abbi town, while Enugu operatives discovered 435.1kg of cannabis in a warehouse in Trans Ekulu.

Also, in Edo State, five individuals impersonating NDLEA officers were arrested with a fabricated gun and codeine-based syrup. The Commands across the country combined drug supply reduction operations with War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaigns targeting schools, markets, worship centres, and communities.

Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, commended the efforts of the officers and urged vigilance for upcoming operations in the new year.