NDLEA intercepts N16.1bn opioids, arrests octogenarian, chief’s wives, son

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted 25,000,000 pills of tapentadol, an opioid three times stronger than tramadol, and 350,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup at the Tin Can Port in Lagos State. Spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in a statement, said that the seizures were made on Tuesday, […]

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted 25,000,000 pills of tapentadol, an opioid three times stronger than tramadol, and 350,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup at the Tin Can Port in Lagos State.

Spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in a statement, said that the seizures were made on Tuesday, 17th and 20th September, 2024, in three containers which had been on the watch list of the agency following processed intelligence.

He said, “As a result, the NDLEA had requested for 100 per cent joint examination of the shipments with men of the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies. The 25 million pills of tapentadol have an estimated street value of N13,725,000,000, while the codeine consignment has an estimated street value of N2,450,000,000, bringing the total value of the seizures to N16,175,000,000.

“The tapentadol consignment packed in 500 cartons was discovered in one of the containers on Tuesday 17th September while another container examined same day contained 175,000 bottles of Barcadin cough syrup with codeine packed in 875 cartons.

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“The third container containing 175,000 bottles of CSC cough syrup with codeine was examined on Friday, 20th September.”

Also, operatives of the Lagos State Strategic Command of the agency, on Friday, 20th September, arrested an 80-year-old man, Pa Aremu Shojobi, with 14kg of hemp at his home in Iyana Ipaja area of the state.

In his statement, the octogenarian said he had been in the business of selling illicit drugs for 25 years, and that he got his supplies from Benin Republic and sold to his customers from his residence between 7am and 10pm every day.

Also in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, 18th September, raided the two homes of a community leader and Sarkin Yamma of Badagry West LCDA, Alhaji Bashir Mohammed Talba, where a total of 226kg of hemp was recovered from his two wives and son.

Though Alhaji Talba was at large, a search of his house in Ashipa area of Seme, Badagry, led to the recovery of 93 compressed blocks of hemp weighing 57.6kg from his first wife, Asma’u Bashiru (35), and son, Sadat Bashiru (22); while another search of his house at Aketegbo area of Seme Badagry led to the seizure of 302 compressed blocks of cannabis weighing 168.6kgs from his second wife Hauwa Bashir (42).

At the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, NDLEA operatives on Sunday, 15th September, arrested a 38-year-old drug mule, Okafor Ifeanyi Anthony, while attempting to board a Qatar Airlines flight to Iran via Doha with 76 wraps of cocaine in his stomach.

After three days in excretion observation, Okafor excreted the 76 pellets of the ingested cocaine weighing 1.267kg.

Meanwhile, 720 blocks of Arizona, a strain of cannabis weighing 390kg was recovered from a Mitsubishi delivery van marked MUS 720 XH at Ojo area of Lagos on Monday, 16th September.