NDLEA Intercepts Over 1.7 million Opioid Pills At Lagos Airport, Gombe

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,  NDLEA, says it has intercepted at least one million seven hundred and sixty thousand, Four hundred and sixty (1,760,460) pills of Tramadol and other opioids hidden in instant noodles packs and others at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos as well as in Gombe state.

It noted that its operatives also intercepted over 600,000 pills of Tramadol 225mg coming from Karachi, Pakistan in two separate shipments on Ethiopian Airlines flights at the SAHCO import shed of the Lagos airport on Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th December; as well as 5,960 pills of Rohypnol concealed in 60 packs of instant noodles going to Johannesburg, South Africa on Wednesday 14th December.

A statement signed by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, reveals that a female freight agent, Olaleye Adeola has already been arrested in connection with the noodles consignment.  
The statement, said in a related development, the agency in collaboration with the Zone 2 Police Headquarters, Lagos arrested a trader at Balogun market in Lagos Island, Akunne Chibuzor Tochukwu over his attempt to export a Tramadol consignment to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

It stated, the consignment was seized at the Lagos airport by NDLEA operatives on 25th November while a market labourer, Oke Abosede Ronke whose services were requested to convey the drug for export had earlier been arrested.
According to the statement, NDLEA operatives in Lagos, intercepted a truck and a bus conveying 113 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 4,802.84 kilograms around the VGC estate area of Ajah while three suspects: Taofeek Yusuf; Ifeanyi Okorie and Israel Nwachukwu were arrested in connection with the seizures.
It said in Gombe state, a total of 1,154,500 pills of Tramadol, Rohypnol and Exol being transported from Onitsha, Anambra state to Gombe by a truck driver, Umar Hassan, 28, were seized at Bye pass area of Gombe by a team of NDLEA officers following credible intelligence.
While at Edo State,  operatives intercepted a Honda Ridgeline pick-up vehicle loaded with 29 bags of Cannabis Sativa weighing 319kgs and the driver of the vehicle, Alfred Vratombo, 32, was arrested with fake police uniforms, which he was using to deceive security men on the road. 
The statement further noted that attempts by a drug dealer, Chucks Kalu, 29, to smuggle into Kano 26kgs of cannabis concealed inside packs of blenders was thwarted by operatives who intercepted the consignment along Abuja-Kaduna express road and later arrested him in a follow up operation in Kano, just as another suspect, Rabilu Sa’ad Abubakar, 42, was also arrested in a follow up operation in Kano, following the seizure of his consignment of 1,980 bottles of Cough syrup with codeine, concealed inside cartons, were seized along Abuja-Kaduna express road.
Other arrests and seizures by the operatives were in Bauchi, Delta, Oyo, Gombe, and Kaduna  states.