NDLEA Intercepts N1.1bn Tramadol Consignment, 2,145kg Cannabis in Nationwide Drug Bust

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg valued at more than N1.1 billion at the Lagos airport, concealed among thrift trousers in a consignment imported from Pakistan.

The seizure was part of a series of major drug interceptions carried out by the agency across nine states, including the recovery of 2,145kg of cannabis hidden inside a specially constructed compartment of a 20,000-litre fuel tanker.

In a statement on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the Tramadol consignment was packed in 21 cartons and concealed among second-hand trousers imported from Pakistan.

He added that operatives at the Lagos airport also seized 57.80kg of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis valued at more than N173 million, concealed inside cartons of disposable hand gloves shipped from Singapore.

According to Babafemi, the shipment had remained unclaimed for several weeks before NDLEA officers, in collaboration with Customs officials and other security agencies, conducted a joint examination on Thursday, September 3, leading to the discovery.

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He said the seizures demonstrated the agency’s intensified efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks and expose sophisticated methods being used to conceal illicit substances in legitimate commercial consignments.

In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker fitted with a concealed compartment allegedly designed to transport cannabis.

Babafemi said officers pursued the tanker, marked MKA 960 XC, along the Akoko-Lokoja Expressway on Friday after the driver refused to stop.

The driver eventually abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and escaped into the bush.

A search of the tanker uncovered a false compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg. The illicit consignment was allegedly concealed alongside the legitimate fuel cargo destined for Jos, Plateau State.

At the Tin Can Port in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 598.08kg of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies comprising 890 packets inside a 40-foot container on Wednesday, September 2.

Babafemi said the consignment was linked to three suspects already in NDLEA custody — Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji.

He recalled that the trio had been arrested barely a month earlier following the seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-laced cookies at the same port.

In Adamawa State, operatives recovered 864,000 opioid pills, particularly Tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank.

The recovery followed a patrol operation around the Damilu and Jambutu axis of Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area, on Friday.

According to Babafemi, Frank escaped after his Honda Civic rammed into an NDLEA patrol vehicle.

The agency also arrested 35-year-old Calistus Ebubechukwu, described as a major methamphetamine supplier allegedly operating from Lagos to the Mubi and Michika axis. He was arrested in Michika with 2kg of methamphetamine.

Babafemi further disclosed that Attahiru Hussaini was intercepted at the Namtari checkpoint in Mubi on Monday, August 31, with Tramadol and other opioids concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus marked JJM-953XD.

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grammes of cocaine, more than 100kg of assorted Tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of Rohypnol at Gbaji.

Two suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were also arrested at Agbara with 720kg of cannabis.

In Kogi State, three suspects — Saidu Mustapha, 35; Zaharadeen Salisu, 29; and AbdulSalam Abdullahi, 25 — were arrested with 636kg of cannabis concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos, Plateau State.

In Taraba State, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested along Zaki-Biam Road in Wukari Local Government Area with more than 109kg of assorted pharmaceutical drugs.

The drugs included Tramadol, Diazepam, Pentazocine, Phenobarbital, Exol-5, Nitrazepam, Bromazepam and Pregabalin. They were allegedly being transported in a Toyota Corolla marked KUJ-333BT from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.

In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck loaded with bags of cement along the Zaria-Kano Expressway and recovered 1,179kg of skunk.

The agency also arrested 25-year-old Hamza Dahiru in Bauchi in a follow-up operation after the seizure of 322.5kg of cannabis at Deba town in Gombe State on September 1.

In Ekiti State, operatives uncovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in the Efon-Alaaye forest.

Two suspects, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, were arrested, while 117kg of already harvested skunk was recovered.

Meanwhile, in Enugu State, NDLEA operatives arrested 20-year-old Obinna David at Ugbema Junction on Saturday with 40,590 capsules of Tramadol.

The NDLEA said the series of seizures and arrests reflected its ongoing nationwide campaign against the trafficking and distribution of illicit drugs and the increasingly sophisticated methods employed by traffickers.