Ongoing efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo through the Benin Republic into Nigeria have recorded another breakthrough, following the interception of two trailers conveying 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in specially fabricated compartments.

The intelligence-led operation came barely a week after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) recovered 558,900 pills of the same psychoactive substance from a truck that entered Lagos through the Togo-Benin Republic route.

The Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

According to him, one of the trailers, which was heading to Kano, was tracked and intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

NDLEA officers recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol (250mg) hidden beneath the cargo floor of the trailer and arrested the 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru.

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He added that on July 4, NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence, tracked and intercepted the second trailer on the same expressway while it was also heading to Kano.

A total of 777,000 pills of tramadol (250mg) concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor were recovered, while the 22-year-old driver, Muhammed Nuhu, was arrested.

Babafemi said investigations revealed that the three trailers intercepted on June 21, July 2 and July 4, along with their consignments, belonged to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria route.

He also disclosed that two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing a combined 4.7 kilograms, were intercepted at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The consignments arrived from Canada aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on June 24 and July 3 respectively. The cartons were boldly labelled “Odugwu.”

Two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, were initially arrested in connection with the shipments. Their arrest led to the apprehension of another suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, who appeared at a logistics company to collect the consignments.

Further investigations led to the arrest of a 44-year-old businesswoman, Chioma Nneka Mokeme, identified as the owner of the consignments. She was arrested on July 7 in collaboration with the Area C Command of the Nigeria Police, Surulere, Lagos.

According to Babafemi, Mokeme, who claimed to be a printer, told investigators that a Canada-based associate, Agbons Collins, introduced her to the illicit drug business.

In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested an 80-year-old man, Chika Ugwoji, for alleged drug dealing. He was arrested in Ahoada on July 14 with 800 grams of skunk in his possession.

In Edo State, a couple, Christian Chukwuka and Nwanneka Christian, were arrested on July 13 during a raid on their alleged drug warehouse along Sapele Road, Benin City. Operatives recovered 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5 kilograms and compressed blocks of Canadian Loud with a gross weight of 192.67 kilograms.

Similarly, a Chadian woman, Hajara Abdullahi, and her Nigerian accomplice, Abdulkarim Jidda, were arrested in Lagos after 50,000 pills of tramadol (225mg) intercepted in Kogi State on July 12 were traced to them. They were eventually apprehended in the Apapa area of Lagos.

Babafemi said the agency also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign across the country during the past week.

While commending officers and personnel of the various NDLEA commands for the arrests and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd.), said their efforts had significantly strengthened ongoing drug control operations nationwide.

He urged the officers to remain vigilant and sustain the fight against illicit drug trafficking and abuse.

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