The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in two trucks heading to Kano, dealing another blow to a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo–Benin Republic–Nigeria route.
In a statement on Sunday, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the seizures followed intelligence-led operations that uncovered the illicit consignments hidden in specially fabricated compartments beneath the cargo floors of the trailers.
According to the NDLEA, the first truck was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while en route to Kano. Officers recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg and arrested the 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru.
Two days later, on July 4, operatives tracked and intercepted a second truck travelling on the same route to Kano, recovering another 777,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a similar compartment. The driver, Muhammed Nuhu, also 22, was arrested.
The agency said investigations revealed that the two trucks, along with another intercepted on June 21, belonged to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo through the Benin Republic into Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA said its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued nationwide, with one of its sensitisation programmes held at Government Junior Secondary School, Gabasawa, in Kano State.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operation and urged personnel across the country to remain vigilant in the fight against illicit drug trafficking.