NDLEA intercepts N3.7bn Tramadol, nabs drug lord in Lagos
By Ibironke Ariyo
Abuja – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has thwarted an attempts to smuggle into Nigeria 98 cartons containing 5,122,900 pills of Tramadol 225mg with an estimated street value of about N3.7 billion.
A statement by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi on Sunday in Abuja, said that a suspect was arrested at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA) Lagos in connection .
He said that the attempt was foiled through the robust synergy between men of the Nigeria Customs Service and NDLEA officers at the airport as well as those at the DHL cargo warehouse.
“Preliminary findings revealed that the consignments were imported from India and Pakistan, while some of the seized consignments had Freetown, Sierra Leone as final destination, ” he said.
In the same vein, NDLEA operatives in Bauchi State have recovered a total of 6,265,080 pills of opioids from three suspects: Emmanuel Onyebuchi, 32; Uche Iyida, 33; and Chinedu Ezeanyim, 32.
This, he said followed their arrest alongside a truck driver and his assistant at Shopping Complex along Maiduguri Bye-Pass in Bauchi, on Wednesday.
He added that a follow up search of the residence of Iyida on Friday, led to the recovery of 999,500 tablets of Exol-5 at a shop close to the market at Hong Road, Gombi, Adamawa, on July 21.
Babafemi said that 46,000 capsules of tramadol were seized from another suspect, Paul Ajaegbu, 36, along Owerri -Aba road in Imo, on July 17.
“Same suspect had earlier been arrested, precisely on Feb. 9, 2023, for the same offence,” he said.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives have also arrested a drug kingpin, Charles Uwagbale, with 93 wraps of cocaine in Lagos.
Babafemi said that the notorious drug kingpin specialized in sponsoring young Nigerians to traffick Class A drugs to Europe especially Italy.
He said that the suspect was shocked when NDLEA operatives stormed his hotel room and arrested him together with a courier in Okota area of Lagos, late on Friday.
Babafemi said the drug lord was preparing a recruited courier to swallow 93 pellets of cocaine meant for distribution in Italy.
He said that the recruted courier, Uju Dominic, 35, came from Italy just to ingest the pellets of cocaine on Friday and return to Italy on Saturday.
“True to plan, upon the arrival in Nigeria, the mule was lodged in Golden Heaven Hotel located at Enoma street off Ago-Palace way, Okota, Isolo, Lagos.
“This is where Uwagbale brought 93 wraps of the class A drug for him to swallow at about 23:45pm Friday night.
“They were in the process when NDLEA operatives who have been on their trail following credible intelligence stormed their hotel room, arrested both and recovered the drug exhibits with a total weight of 1.427 kilograms,” he added.
Babafemi also said operatives of the Lagos state Command who made the arrest and seizure, had on Thursday recovered 37.5kg cannabis from the home of a fleeing suspect at Akala in Mushin area of Lagos. NAN
