Customs to destroy N15bn Tramadol, other harmful drugs

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced its intention to destroy over N15 billion worth of Tramadol, as well as other illicit drugs seized in Lagos and other parts of the country. A good number of the drugs were intercepted by Customs operatives attached to the Apapa and Tin-Can Island Command. The Comptroller-General of the […]

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced its intention to destroy over N15 billion worth of Tramadol, as well as other illicit drugs seized in Lagos and other parts of the country.

A good number of the drugs were intercepted by Customs operatives attached to the Apapa and Tin-Can Island Command.

The Comptroller-General of the NCS, Hameed Ali, had disclosed in November 2018 that the Apapa command of the Service intercepted 40  containers of pharmaceutical products with a duty paid value (DPV) of N7.31bn.

The NCS Assistant Comptroller-General (ACG), Aminu Dahiru, disclosed, when the Director-General of the National Agency for Food & Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professsor Mojisola Adeyeye, visited the Customs Area Controller of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone A, Comptroller, Aliyu Muhammed, in Lagos,  it was agreed to destroy the seized dangerous drugs.

Dahiru said, “We are destroying goods worth N15bn. There are two types of container, 40ft and 20ft containers. Apart from two containers that are 20ft, all the rest are 40ft, so you can see how massive the drugs are.

“Our concern is not mainly on revenue but on security, safety of life. We will destroy drugs seized in the Southwest in Ogun State, those seized in the Southsouth and Southeast in Port Harcourt and those seized in the North in Kaduna. So it is a national assignment,” the ACG stated.

Prof Adeyeye noted that Indian and Chinese nationals were shipping Tramadol to Nigeria because usage of such drugs had been banned in their countries.

“They rained Tramadol on us from India and China last year because those countries had banned its sale and use. We seized most of the containers that came into the country with the drug. We have about 50 containers of Tramadol alone to destroy, starting from this week. We have to destroy them because they are not fit for consumption by human beings. No one can turn us to a zombie country,” she said.