By Oluwatosin Maliki
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has foiled attempts of the transnational drug traffickers to distribute illicit drugs in the country, during the yuletide season.
It was learned that operatives of the anti-narcotic 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.
This was contained in a statement released by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, in Abuja on Sunday.
According to Babafemi, the NDLEA officers intercepted no fewer than 7,500,000 pills of tramadol 225mg at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
He revealed that the consignment was trafficked through the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) import shed of the airport and was intercepted by operatives in collaboration with men of the Nigeria Customs and other stakeholders.
Furthermore, Babafemi noted that the consignment, seized on Friday, December 22, came onboard a Turkish airline with no country of manufacture or origin.
The statement read, “Apart from being the first time such shipment would be seized on the airline’s flight, it was equally the first of such coming from Hamburg, Germany.”
“The 7.5million tramadol 225mg pills were also specially designed and packaged as Tamil-x concealed in 100 big cartons weighing 7,150kg, which arrived in the country on Dec.11 and were placed under surveillance until last Friday.”
The spokesman said, “Preliminary test of the tablets proved positive to tramadol hydrochloride.”
In a related development on Wednesday, December 20, officers of the Lagos command of the agency launched a search operation on two shops marked Chex Mat Global Link Limited at the Trade Fair complex in the Ojo area of Lagos.
Babafemi disclosed, a total of 258 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup and eight cartons of codeine tablets were recovered during the operation.
He explained that the cartons contained 49,200 bottles of codeine syrup and 46,200 tablets of the same opioid.
“The following day, Thursday, December 21, NDLEA operatives raided a house in the Mushin area of Lagos where a 70-year-old grandma, Selifat Cole, and her son, Babajide Cole, were arrested with 117.900kg of cannabis sativa, ” he added.