The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million tramadol pills concealed in specially modified compartments of two long trailers and arrested suspected members of a transnational drug trafficking network operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria route.
In a statement on Sunday, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the operation followed the earlier seizure of 558,900 tramadol pills hidden in a truck that entered Nigeria through the same corridor just a week before.
According to Babafemi, the first trailer, travelling to Kano, was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where operatives recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol (250mg) concealed beneath the vehicle’s cargo floor. The driver, 22-year-old Jabir Kabiru, was arrested.
A second trailer was tracked and intercepted on the same highway on July 4, leading to the recovery of another 777,000 tramadol pills (250mg) hidden in a fabricated compartment. Its driver, 22-year-old Muhammed Nuhu, was also taken into custody.
The agency said investigations revealed that the consignments intercepted on June 21, July 2 and July 4 were linked to the same international drug trafficking syndicate.
In a separate operation, NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, seized 4.70 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, concealed in cartons labelled “Odugwu.” The shipments arrived from Canada on British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on June 24 and July 3.
Babafemi said cargo agents Ali Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga were initially arrested, while another suspect, Edeh Stanislus, was apprehended while attempting to collect the consignments.
The alleged owner of the shipment, 44-year-old businesswoman Chioma Nneka Mokeme, was later arrested on July 7 with support from the Nigeria Police Area C Command in Surulere, Lagos. She reportedly told investigators that a Canada-based associate, Agbons Collins, introduced her to the illicit drug trade.
