The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has impounded over five million pills of Tramadol worth N3.7b.
In a statement on Sunday, the agency’s Director, Media, and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that the seizure was achieved through the collaboration of men of the Nigeria Customs Service and others working at the airport’s DHL cargo warehouse.
He, however, did not disclose when the pills were intercepted.
“Attempts to smuggle 98 cartons containing 5,122,900 pills of Tramadol 225mg with an estimated street value of about N3.7bn only into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, have been thwarted through the robust synergy between men of the Nigeria Customs Service and NDLEA officers at the airport as well as those at the DHL cargo warehouse,” the statement added.
The NDLEA spokesman added that preliminary investigations revealed that the consignments were imported from India and Pakistan, while some of the seized consignments had Freetown, Sierra Leone as the final destination.
In a related development, the Agency also arrested a suspected drug kingpin identified as Charles Uwagbale in his hotel room in the Okota area of Lagos.
The NDLEA alleged that 43-year-old Uwagbale of sponsoring young Nigerians to move “Class A” drugs to European countries.
