UN express worry over massive importation of Tramadol, others through GoG

By Richards Adeniyi

The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), has raised an alarm over the increasing importation of hard drugs including cocaine and Tramadol into Nigeria and other West Africa countries through the Gulf of Guinea.

The UNODC also applauded the federal government for signing into law, the Suppression of Piracy and other Offences Act, which they said gives comprehensive framework to tackling the issue of piracy and other maritime crimes.

According to UN, the most prominent kind of drugs being smuggled into the countries in West and Central Africa, are tramadol and cocaine.

Speaking with newsmen on the side line of the ongoing 3-day Global Maritime Security Conference (GMSC) holding in Abuja, Oliver Stolpe, representative of UNODC Nigeria, said in 2014, Nigerian authority seized about 8 tonnes of tramadol that were smuggled into the country, but the latest data shows that in 2018, the volume of seized tramadol hits a record high of 150 tonnes.