The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully apprehended the suspected owner of a consignment of tramadol hidden within a bottle of dietary supplements, creating a commotion at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, last Tuesday. Femi Babafemi, the spokesperson for NDLEA, disclosed this significant development on Sunday, confirming that the suspect was taken into custody on Friday.
Earlier in the week, a viral video claimed that the detained individual, who was allegedly tortured on his knees and slapped by another person, was an employee of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). The video suggested that the suspect was targeted for attempting to transport drugs to Accra, Ghana, using a passenger as an unwitting courier. However, FAAN distanced itself from the incident, asserting that the individual was an employee of an aviation services company within the airport premises.
Babafemi stated on Sunday that FAAN handed over the suspect and the seized consignment to the NDLEA on Thursday. Preliminary investigations by the NDLEA revealed that the concealed parcel contained 50 pills of tramadol within a bottle of dietary supplements. A subsequent operation led to the arrest of the suspect upon his return from Ghana on Friday, where he confirmed ownership of the illicit drugs.
In a related development, two freight agents and a traveler narrowly escaped involvement in two drug trafficking operations at Murtala Muhammed International Airport. The agents had been contacted to ship a consignment of 1kg of Indian hemp concealed in chocolate drink tins to Turkey. Fortunately, they chose to subject the shipment to NDLEA checks before processing the cargo.
Meanwhile, various special units of the NDLEA intercepted large consignments of cocaine and colorado, a potent strain of cannabis, concealed in containerized household items and vehicles imported from Durban, South Africa, and Canada at the Tincan Seaport in Lagos. The seizures resulted from coordinated intelligence efforts and months of tracking by the NDLEA. The illicit drugs, along with arms, ammunition, and military effects, were discovered during a joint examination with Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
Babafemi detailed the items recovered from the containers, including 1,274 parcels of cocaine and colorado, weighing 884.09 kilograms, pistols, ammunition, and various military personnel effects. A suspect linked to one of the containers has been tracked and arrested by NDLEA operatives.
In Kano, three suspects were apprehended with 5,653,000 pills of tramadol 250mg and exol-5. The NDLEA seized 5,404,000 pills of tramadol from Nura Abdullahi and Tahir Muhammad Mukhtar in Bacharawa, Kano, and 249,000 tablets of exol-5 from Yusuf Umar in Gadar Tamburawa. In Lagos, Ali Abubakar and Murtala Sani were arrested with 110kg of cannabis sativa, while 69kg of the same substance was recovered from a fleeing suspect’s hideout in Akerele, Surulere.
NDLEA officers also recovered 2,800 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup in a raid operation at Aleita FCT, Abuja, with the suspected owner, Jideofor Sochima, currently at large. Additionally, in Taraba State, 100,510 pills of opioids were seized from Ike Emmanuel, and in Abia State, Joseph Isiguzoro, Emmanuel Eugene, and Malachi Ndu were arrested with 34,200 pills of opioids, along with a substantial sum of money.
