Following allegations of complicity leveled by officials of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), that an ambulance owned by Medbury Medical Services was used to facilitate a Tramadol smuggling activity at Apapa ports, the healthcare provider has denied any involvement.
In a statement seen by BusinessDay, Medbury noted that while the said ambulance belonged to it, it was illegally hijacked without permission by the driver.
The NCS, Apapa 1 Command, had on Wednesday said it arrested a driver of an ambulance belonging to Medbury Medical Services and his escort for smuggling 10 cartons of 225 milligram (mg) of stolen Tramadol out of Apapa Port. The Federal Government recently placed a ban through the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on the importation of Tramadol in excess of 100mg.
In its statement, Medbury said it quickly initiated investigations when the driver’s whereabouts became unknown, even before the news broke that he was arrested.
“We will like to clarify that the driver was at the time of the incident not authorised to move the vehicle out of the premises and acted on his own accord,” the company said. “We immediately provided a replacement, a fully equipped ambulance, as soon as we were notified of the incident and the driver involved has been suspended indefinitely, pending the report of the investigation.”
The company also said it has launched investigation into how the vehicle was used for the illegal activity.
The statement read in part, “The initial assumption was that the driver had stolen the ambulance, but we were later informed that the driver had been intercepted by Customs officers at the Port and Tramadol was discovered in the vehicle.
The statement added, “We are a law-abiding organisation and we will like to state that we are cooperating fully with the Nigerian Customs regarding this incident.”
The company commended moves by the Nigeria Customs to further investigate the matter stating
“While the terminal interfaces with Nigerian Customs and the issue of investigation is ongoing, we are on standby to offer assistance within our capacity and knowledge on the issue as well as receive any useful information from the terminal on its perspective on the issue.
“The ambulance is a life-saving vehicle and was unlawfully hijacked and used to perpetuate this crime against the purpose for which it was purchased and assigned by our organisation,” it added.
