NDLEA intercepts 1.63m tramadol pills, busts transnational drug syndicate

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in specially fabricated compartments of two articulated trucks and dismantled part of a transnational drug trafficking network operating along the Togo–Benin Republic–Nigeria corridor.

The agency said the intelligence-driven operation followed the seizure of 558,900 tramadol pills hidden in another truck that entered Nigeria through the same route barely a week earlier, with investigations linking all three consignments to the same criminal syndicate.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, said operatives intercepted the first trailer on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Motorway while it was heading to Kano.

According to the statement, officers discovered 853,000 pills of 250mg tramadol concealed beneath the cargo floor of the truck and arrested its 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru.

It said the agency tracked a second trailer along the same expressway on July 4, recovering another 777,000 pills of 250mg tramadol hidden inside a specially fabricated compartment.

The driver, identified as 22-year-old Muhammed Nuhu, was also arrested.

“The latest seizures were the result of ongoing intelligence operations targeting a drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo through the Benin Republic into Nigeria,” the agency explained.

According to the NDLEA, investigations have established that the consignments intercepted on June 21, July 2 and July 4 all belonged to the same cross-border trafficking network.

The anti-narcotics agency also recorded successes at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, where operatives intercepted two consignments of Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 4.70 kilogrammes.

It said the consignments arrived from Canada aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on June 24 and July 3, respectively. They were concealed inside cartons labelled “Odugwu”.

The agency initially arrested two cargo agents, Ali Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, before apprehending another suspect, Edeh Stanislus, who allegedly attempted to collect the shipments.

Further investigations led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the consignments, 44-year-old businesswoman Chioma Nneka Mokeme, on July 7 with support from the Nigeria Police Area C Command in Surulere, Lagos.

According to the agency, Mokeme, who claimed to be involved in the printing business, told investigators that a friend based in Canada, identified as Agbons Collins, introduced her to the illicit trade.

In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested an 80-year-old suspect, Chika Ugwoji, in Ahoada after he was allegedly found with 800 grammes of skunk.

The agency described the arrest as part of its sustained nationwide clampdown on illicit drug trafficking and abuse.

In Edo State, operatives also arrested a couple, Christian Chukwuka, 32, and Nwanneka Christian, 33, during a raid on an alleged drug warehouse along Sapele Road in Benin City.

The operation resulted in the seizure of 22 bags of Cannabis sativa weighing 219.5 kilogrammes, as well as 192.67 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud.

In another operation linked to an earlier interception in Kogi State, the NDLEA arrested 38-year-old Chadian national Hajara Abdullahi and her Nigerian accomplice, Abdulkarim Jidda, 44, in Lagos after tracing them to a consignment of 50,000 pills of 225mg tramadol seized on July 12.

Mohamed Marwa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, said the agency’s sustained intelligence-led enforcement strategy was producing significant results in the fight against drug trafficking.

He praised the commitment of operatives across the country and urged them to remain vigilant in disrupting drug trafficking networks and strengthening Nigeria’s drug control efforts.