NDLEA Intercepts Tramadol Shipments In Lagos, Nabs 80-year-old Grandpa, Bizwoman
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in two long trailers in Lagos, dismantling another major operation linked to a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo–Benin Republic–Nigeria corridor.
The anti-narcotics agency also arrested an 80-year-old man allegedly dealing in illicit drugs in Rivers State and a 44-year-old businesswoman accused of importing synthetic cannabis from Canada, alongside several other suspects in coordinated operations across the country.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the latest seizures followed intelligence-led operations targeting a syndicate that smuggles tramadol from Togo through the Benin Republic into Nigeria.
The agency said one of the trailers, which was already heading to Kano, was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. NDLEA operatives recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg hidden inside a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor and arrested the 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru.
A second trailer linked to the same network was tracked and intercepted on the same expressway on July 4 while also heading to Kano. Officers recovered another 777,000 pills of tramadol concealed in a similar hidden compartment and arrested its 22-year-old driver, Muhammed Nuhu.
NDLEA said investigations established that the two trailers, together with another truck intercepted on June 21, belonged to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating across the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria route.
The latest breakthrough came barely one week after the agency recovered 558,900 tramadol pills concealed in the false bottom compartment of another truck that entered Lagos through the same route.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives also intercepted two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing a combined 4.70 kilograms.
The shipments, which arrived from Canada aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on June 24 and July 3, were concealed inside cartons boldly labelled "Odugwu."
The agency initially arrested two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, before apprehending Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, who reportedly arrived at a logistics company to take delivery of the consignments.
Further investigations led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the shipments, 44-year-old businesswoman Chioma Nneka Mokeme, on July 7 in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Area C Command, Surulere.
Chioma, who claimed to be a printing business operator, allegedly told investigators that a Canada-based associate, Agbons Collins, introduced her to the illicit drug trade.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested 80-year-old Chika Ugwoji at Ahoada on July 14 after he was allegedly found in possession of 800 grams of skunk.
In Edo State, officers raided a suspected drug warehouse along Sapele Road in Benin City, arresting a couple, Christian Chukwuka, 32, and Nwanneka Christian, 33.
The operation led to the seizure of 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5 kilograms, as well as compressed blocks of Canadian Loud with a total weight of 192.67 kilograms.
In another operation, a Chadian national, Hajara Abdullahi, 38, and her Nigerian accomplice, Abdulkarim Jidda, 44, were arrested in Apapa, Lagos, after investigators linked them to a consignment of 50,000 pills of tramadol 225mg intercepted earlier in Kogi State on July 12.
Commending officers involved in the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised personnel of the MMIA, Lagos, Rivers, Edo and Kogi Commands for their commitment to the agency's anti-drug campaign.
Marwa said the officers' efforts, alongside those of other personnel across the country, had contributed significantly to ongoing drug control operations and urged them to remain vigilant in the fight against drug trafficking.