NDLEA Intercepts 1.63m Tramadol Pills, arrests 80-year-old suspect

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in two articulated trucks bound for Kano, in what it described as another major breakthrough in its ongoing operation against a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo–Benin Republic–Nigeria corridor.

The anti-narcotics agency also arrested an 80-year-old suspected drug dealer in Rivers State, a businesswoman allegedly linked to cannabis shipments from Canada, a Chadian woman, a couple and several other suspects during coordinated operations across Lagos, Edo, Kogi and Rivers states.

The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the developments in a statement issued on Sunday.

According to him, the latest seizures came barely a week after operatives recovered 558,900 tramadol pills hidden in a specially constructed compartment of a truck that entered Nigeria through the Togo–Benin Republic route.

Babafemi said intelligence-led investigations enabled operatives to track two separate trailers transporting large quantities of 250mg tramadol concealed beneath their cargo floors.

The first truck was intercepted along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on 2 July, where officers recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol and arrested the 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru.

Two days later, on 4 July, a second trailer travelling along the same route towards Kano was intercepted. NDLEA operatives recovered 777,000 pills of tramadol hidden in another fabricated compartment and arrested the driver, Muhammed Nuhu, also 22.

According to the agency, investigations established that the consignments intercepted on 21 June, 2 July and 4 July were all connected to the same cross-border trafficking network operating between Togo, Benin Republic and Nigeria.

In a separate operation at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, NDLEA officers intercepted 4.70 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, concealed in two consignments that arrived from Canada aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights.

The cartons, marked “Odugwu”, arrived on 24 June and 3 July.

Investigators initially arrested two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, before apprehending Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, who allegedly arrived at a logistics company to collect the consignments.

Further investigations led to the arrest of Chioma Nneka Mokeme, a 44-year-old businesswoman, who was identified by the agency as the alleged owner of the shipments.

According to the NDLEA, Mokeme was arrested on 7 July with the support of the Nigeria Police Force’s Area C Command in Surulere, Lagos. She reportedly told investigators that a friend identified as Agbons Collins, who resides in Canada, introduced her to the illicit trade.

In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested 80-year-old Chika Ugwoji in Ahoada after allegedly recovering 800 grams of skunk from his possession.

The agency said the octogenarian was apprehended during an operation conducted on 14 July.

Meanwhile, in Edo State, operatives raided a warehouse along Sapele Road in Benin City, arresting Christian Chukwuka, 32, and Nwanneka Christian, 33, while seizing 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5 kilograms, alongside compressed blocks of Canadian Loud with a combined weight of 192.67 kilograms.