On Thursday, operatives of the NDLEA arrested a 70-year-old grandmother and her son a day after intercepting millions of tramadol 225mg pills, thousands of codeine syrup bottles, and bags of Canadian Loud in shipments arriving in the country ahead of Christmas.
The NDLEA disclosed that its operatives conducted a raid on a residence in the Mushin area of Lagos on Thursday, December 21, resulting in the apprehension of 70-year-old Selifat Cole and her son, Babajide Cole, along with 117.900kg of cannabis sativa.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi issued a statement on Sunday, revealing that the arrests were made with the collaboration of the Nigerian Customs Service and other stakeholders.
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Babafemi explained, “At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA officers, in cooperation with the Nigerian Customs and other stakeholders, successfully thwarted attempts by drug syndicates to smuggle 7,500,000 pills of tramadol 225mg into the country through the NAHCO import shed on Friday, December 22.”
He continued, “The tramadol pills, concealed in 100 large cartons weighing 7,150kg and arriving on a Turkish airline with no specified country of manufacture or origin, marked a significant interception.
This shipment was the first of its kind on the airline’s flight and also the first from Hamburg, Germany. Preliminary tests confirmed the presence of tramadol hydrochloride.”
The statement highlighted further actions taken by NDLEA operatives, including the search of two shops at the Trade Fair Complex in Lagos, where 258 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup and eight cartons of codeine tablets were recovered.
The spokesperson noted that these cartons contained 49,200 bottles of codeine syrup and 46,200 tablets of the opioid.
Additional operations detailed in the statement included the interception of a consignment of spare parts containing 200 grams of cocaine at the cargo terminal of the Lagos airport, the seizure of 70 parcels of Canadian Loud (a potent strain of cannabis) from a container arriving from Canada, and the interception of 25,000 pills of tramadol in the Federal Capital Territory.
The statement also highlighted arrests in Anambra, Delta, Enugu, and Edo States, including the recovery of large quantities of cannabis and the apprehension of individuals impersonating NDLEA officers in Edo State.
The collective efforts of NDLEA operatives and their collaborators successfully curtailed the influx of illicit drugs into Nigerian communities during the holiday season.
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