By Adeleye Kunle
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) apprehended 2,465,000 tramadol 225mg and 250mg tablets weighing 2,356kg smuggled through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos State, Track News reports.
The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, revealed the seizure, which occurred on Friday and is estimated to be worth N1,040,000,000 on the street, in a statement on Sunday.
This development comes just a few days after NDLEA operatives retrieved approximately 13.5 million pills of the same opioid worth over N8.8 billion from one of a billionaire drug baron’s mansions in Victoria Garden City, Lagos.
In part, the statement read,
“Following credible intelligence, the agency expressed interest in a consignment of 52 cartons that arrived in Nigeria from Karachi, Pakistan, with six different airway bills via an Ethiopian Airline flight, comprising seven cartons of 250mg tamral and 45 cartons of 225mg tramaking.”
“Shortly after its arrival at Lagos International Airport, the NDLEA requested a joint examination of the consignment with other stakeholders, and after its information was confirmed by all, the 52 cartons of the seized substance, which is above the recommended threshold for medical use and is illegal in the country, were moved to the agency’s facility.”
“In the same vein, another attempt to export 15 parcels of cannabis and 600grams of tramadol 225mg concealed in a sack of crayfish to Dubai, UAE, was similarly foiled by operatives who seized the consignment and later arrested a freight agent, Osahor Alex Ekwueme, who presented it for export.”
“Ifeanyi Egbuwaohia, the brains behind the consignment, has been arrested in the Igando area of Lagos, weeks after NDLEA operatives intercepted 5.20kgs of cannabis concealed in kegs of palm oil bound for Dubai at the airport’s NAHCO export shed.” Ifeanyi works as a technician at Computer Village in Ikeja, but he also works with a drug network in Dubai, where he sends illegal drugs for distribution. A few hours after his arrest, operatives at the airport intercepted another consignment of 2.60kgs of the same substance sent by him for export to Dubai.
“Another consignment of 1.30kgs of cannabis concealed in reconstructed engine blocks bound for Dubai was also seized at the SAHCO export shed, and two people were arrested in connection with the bid: Olatunji Kehinde Temiola and Osemojoye Femi Sunday.”
