NDLEA Intercepts N16.1bn Opioids, Arrests 80-Year-Old In Lagos
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted 25 million pills of tapentadol, an opioid three times stronger than tramadol, with a street value of over N13.7bn.
The NDLEA, in its weekly update on Sunday, revealed that its operatives also intercepted 350 thousand bottles of codeine-based syrup at the Tincan port complex in Lagos.
The seizures made on September 17 and September 20, amounted to a total street value of N16.bn, the NDLEA revealed.
The agency noted that the consignment was contained in three containers on its watchlist based on intelligence.
”As a result, the NDLEA had requested for 100% joint examination of the shipments with men of the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies,” the NDLEA revealed.
The agency further gave a breakdown of how the seizures were executed.
It said, “The tapentadol consignment packed in 500 cartons was discovered in one of the containers on Tuesday 17th September while another container examined the same day contained 175,000 bottles of Barcadin cough syrup with codeine packed in 875 cartons.
”The third container containing 175,000 bottles of CSC cough syrup with codeine was examined on Friday 20th September.”
Meanwhile, operatives of NDLEA’s Lagos State Strategic Command on September 20, arrested an 80-year-old grandfather, Pa Aremu Shojobi, with 14 kilograms of cannabis at his home in the Iyana Ipaja area of the state.
In his statement, the Octogenarian claimed he has been in the business of selling illicit drugs for 25 years.
He further claimed he gets his supplies from the Benin Republic and sells them to his customers from his residence between 7 am and 10 pm daily.
In the same vein, NDLEA operatives in Lagos on September 18 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 cannabis was recovered from his two wives and son.
Though Alhaji Talba is currently at large, a search of his house in the Ashipa area of Seme Badagry led to the recovery of 93 compressed blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 57.6kg from his first wife, Asma’u Bashiru, 35, and son, Sadat Bashiru, 22.
Another search of his house in the Aketegbo area of Seme Badagry also led to the seizure of 302 compressed blocks of cannabis weighing 168.6kg from his second wife Hauwa Bashir, 42.
”No less than 720 blocks of Arizona, a strain of cannabis weighing 390kg were also recovered from a Mitsubishi delivery van marked MUS 720 XH at Ojo area of Lagos on Monday 16th September,” the agency added.
NDLEA Intercepts N16.1bn Opioids, Arrests 80-Year-Old In Lagos is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
