Barely two weeks after police detectives at the Apapa Area Command intercepted a container laden with Tramadol and Codeine in Lagos, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered another 40ft container loaded with Tramadol and other banned drugs at the Brawal terminal in Lagos.
NDLEA chairman, Col. Muhammad Abdallah (rtd), disclosed this in Abuja. Speaking through the agency’s Head of Public Affairs, Jonah Achema, in a statement on Wednesday, Abdallah said the seizure followed a recent one made by the police of a 40ft container loaded with cartons of brushes, cartons of tramadol and other banned drugs.
The Police had intercepted a 40-foot container laden with drugs suspected to be Tramadol and Codeine on August 6. The container was intercepted offshore and taken to a bonded terminal in Apapa.
Abdallah said NDLEA’s investigation further unveiled another 40 foot container, adding that this joint examination also uncovered 255 cartons of different types of Tramadol and other banned drugs.
“The NDLEA i
nvestigation further revealed that the Tramadol was manufactured in Pakistan, which is a new discovery to the agency because previous Tramadol seized were manufactured in India. I must say that this is of global interest. Drug trafficking is one of the vices fueling insecurity across the country”.
He noted that the investigation was a major breakthrough for the agency for revealing the new route for movement of Tramadol into Nigeria which was from Pakistan via Europe (Hamburg) to Nigeria, adding, “And knowing that these Tramadol were concealed behind boxes of brushes, it has called for more concern”.
Abdallah said the NDLEA would do everything within its powers to get to the root of the drug trade and enjoined other security agencies to collaborate with the agency in its ongoing investigation, just as he commended the Police, NAFDAC and other security agencies for their support on the case.
He said the agency would continue to carry out its statutory mandate to combat trafficking and abuse of narcotics.
