The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has intercepted 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 2,787.40 kilograms and estimated to be worth more than ₦4.6 billion on the street.
The pharmaceutical opioids were recovered from four abandoned consignments at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, after no one came forward to claim the shipments.
In a statement by the spokesperson of the agency Femi Babafemi , three of the consignments contained 900,000 tablets of Tramaking, weighing 815.40 kilograms. The shipments arrived in Nigeria aboard RwandAir flights from Bangladesh.
The fourth consignment contained 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol, with a gross weight of 1,972 kilograms, and arrived aboard Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.
The consignments had been placed under close surveillance after being abandoned at the airport.
They were formally retrieved on Friday, August 28, following a joint examination conducted by NDLEA officers, the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant stakeholders.
The latest seizure highlights the continued use of international air cargo routes by drug traffickers to move large quantities of pharmaceutical opioids into Nigeria.
Consequently, the NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), urged NDLEA officers across the country to sustain what he described as the Agency’s balanced approach to drug control, combining enforcement with other measures aimed at addressing the illicit drug trade.
He also directed officers to maintain the pressure on traffickers who, according to him, are increasingly resorting to creative concealment methods to move illicit consignments.
The NDLEA Chairman specifically noted that traffickers are exploring everyday household items, including soap, to conceal and transport drugs.
He called on officers to remain vigilant and sustain the momentum against criminal networks seeking to exploit legitimate trade and transportation channels for illicit drug trafficking.