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The Operatives of The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested four suspects and intercepted three million capsules of opioids at Jaelith Bonded Container Terminal at the Tincan seaport in the Apapa area of Lagos.
Femi Babafemi, the director, media and advocacy revealed this on Friday in a statement titled, ‘NDLEA intercepts 3million opioid caps at Lagos terminal; 8, 613kg Loud at Eko beach.
He said the seizure, comprising Tapentadol and Carisoprodol weighing 1,500 kilograms and “more dangerous and potent than tramadol”.
Babafemi added that the arrest followed a similar operation in which anti-narcotic officers of the agency also intercepted 8,613 kilograms of Loud cannabis smuggled in from Ghana through the waterways at the Eko Atlantic Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos, on March 6.
According to him, “the seized drugs at the bonded terminal were discovered during a joint examination with men of Customs service of a 20ft container marked, SUDU 7774749.
He explained that though the consignment was said to have originated from Ningbo province in China and falsely labelled as containing 271 packages of “insulating fittings, faucet water closet WC, and industrial office printing machine,” investigations revealed that “information on the bill of laden and shipping documents” was fake.
The agency arrested some drivers and their assistants while two trucks, a Siena space bus, Peugeot Boxer bus, and a Toyota Camry car were seized from them.
Babafemi said the suspects, identified as Adeyemi Bayioku, 31; Godwin Anya, 28; Yusuf Taofik, 20, and Adeniyi Adelaja, 19, who were on the ground to load the shipment into their vehicles.
“Further investigations uncovered that the container originated from India and arrived in Nigeria Apapa port on February 10, 2022. Findings showed that the Tramadol found and labelled as Tafrodol 120mg is actually Tapentadol, which is a more dangerous and potent opioid than Tramadol. It was also discovered that the container, SUDU 7774749, was consigned from India in Nhava Sheva port, then transloaded through Morocco and Ghana to Nigeria. The statement added.
“Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) has commended the officers and men of the Tincan port and Lagos Command of the agency for their vigilance and commitment to the mission to rid Nigeria of illicit drugs. He also applauded the current synergy and working relationship between the agency and other law enforcement agencies in the country.