The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has foiled desperate attempts by tramadol drug cartel to smuggle 2.4 million tablets of the pharmaceutical opioid in 225mg and 250mg.
NDLEA spokesperson, Mr Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
Babafemi said the drugs, weighed 2,356 kgs with an estimated street value of N1. 04 billion
He said that the drugs were intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
He said the seizure of the drug on Friday came barely a week after about 13.5 million pills of the same opioid, worth more than N8.8 billion were recovered by NDLEA operatives.
This, he said, were intercepted from one of the mansions of a billionaire drug baron in the highbrow residential estate, Victoria Garden City, VGC, Lekki Lagos.
According to him, following credible intelligence, the Agency had shown interest in the consignment of 52 cartons that came into Nigeria from Karachi, Pakistan.
“This is with six different airway bills via Ethiopian Airline flight, comprising seven cartons of 250mg of a brand called tamral and 45 cartons of 225mg, branded as tramaking.
“Soon after its arrival at the Lagos airport, NDLEA called for a joint examination of the consignment with other stakeholders and its information was confirmed by all.
“Then, the 52 cartons of the seized substance, which are above the recommended threshold for medical use and banned in the country, were moved to the agency’s facility, ” he said.
