The Nigerian National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has foiled an attempt by a trans-border trafficker to smuggle 50,000 pills of Tramadol (225mg) from Ghana into Lagos. The suspect, Emmanuel Okechukwu Okeke, was arrested on Saturday, 16th November 2024, following a series of intelligence-led operations targeting a network of illicit drug traders.
According to a statement released by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, the illegal drugs were hidden in the body compartments of a Toyota Hummer bus, owned by the GUO Transport Company and driven by Okeke. The vehicle was intercepted on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, near the Ijanikin area, while en route from Ghana to Lagos.
In addition to this seizure, the NDLEA also disrupted several other attempts to smuggle drugs within Nigeria and to European countries over the past week. “Attempts by drug syndicates to export large consignments of cocaine, methamphetamine, and opioids through Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, to the United Kingdom, Italy, Turkey, and Qatar have been thwarted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,” the statement said.
The agency further disclosed: “A total of 13 parcels of cocaine, weighing 4.40kg, destined for the United Kingdom via Frankfurt on a Lufthansa Airlines flight, were intercepted by NDLEA officers at the export shed of Lagos airport on 5th November 2024. A businessman linked to the consignment, Ekeocha Anayo Nelson, was tracked and arrested on 8th November.”
Meanwhile, as part of its ongoing efforts, the Anti-Narcotics Agency, through its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) programme, has intensified public awareness campaigns. These initiatives, targeting schools, places of worship, workplaces, and communities, form part of the NDLEA’s broader strategy to combat drug trafficking and abuse across the country.
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