By Gowon Emakpe
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency , NDLEA, have arrested 51 suspects in Kano State and intercepted no fewer than 2,750,000 tablets of Tramadol 225mg weighing 1,650kgs worth N1.4bn at the Apapa port in Lagos State.
Femi Babafemi, spokesperson for the Agency, who made this known in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said that the 51 suspects were arrested during a raid at Sky restaurant in Nasarawa area of Kano State the suspects, on Friday 29th July, were caught with various quantities of cannabis and codeine-based cough syrup.
Furthermore, he said no fewer than 2,750,000 tablets of Tramadol 225mg weighing 1,650kgs worth N1.4bn were intercepted at the Apapa port in Lagos State.
He added that the consignment packed in 55 cartons of Tapentadol and Carisoprodol types of Tramadol was seized during an examination of a container number SUDU 7538656 on Saturday 30th July following credible intelligence.
He said, “This comes on the heels of similar efforts by anti-narcotic officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport MMIA, Ikeja that thwarted bids by drug traffickers to export various psychoactive substances to London, UK and Dubai through the Lagos airport in the past week. At least, five suspects have so far been arrested in connection to the attempts,
“On Monday 25th July, a Dubai, UAE-bound passenger Ms Ebhodaghei Gloria Osenemeshen, was intercepted during the outward clearance of travellers on Rwanda Air via Kigali to Dubai. Discovered in her luggage were sachets of Tramadol 225mg concealed inside gari, a cassava product packed among other foodstuffs.
“She however claimed that the bag was given to her by someone who she passed the night in his house before coming to the airport to help deliver it to another person in Dubai.
“On 26th July, a total of 50 blocks of cannabis Sativa with a total weight of 27.1kgs concealed inside a large quantity of crayfish going to London, as part of a consolidated cargo were seized at the SAHCO export shed.
“The same day, a Dubai-bound female passenger, Emebradu Previous Rachael, was arrested with 1.8kg cannabis packed inside bitter leaf in her luggage while attempting to board a Rwanda Air flight to UAE via Kigali.”
According to him, the mother of one who hails from Oghara in Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State said she sells men’s wear before she decided to travel to Dubai to expand her clothing business.
She claimed her ex-boyfriend that lives in Dubai, requested her to bring the bag, which contains the illicit substance along with foodstuff.
In the same vein, operatives at the NAHCO import shed of the airport on Saturday 30th July evacuated cartons of khat leaf with a total weight of 51.50kg.
The consignment had earlier come in from Sierra Leone on a Royal Air Moroc flight.
