The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a male passenger attempting to smuggle 4,000 tramadol pills through the Muhammad Murtala International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
According to a statement released by Mr. Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy for the NDLEA, the suspect’s plot was uncovered at the departure hall of gate ‘C’ of the Lagos airport on Friday. The attempt was to export the pills to Malpensa, Italy, aboard an Ethiopian Airline flight.
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The NDLEA interception
The concealment of the psychoactive substance was executed, hidden within women’s wear and granulated melon, carefully stowed away in the suspect’s backpack alongside another bag containing innocuous food items.
- Babafemi revealed that upon interrogation, the apprehended suspect, a frequent flyer, confessed to being hired for 700 Euros to successfully deliver the contraband in Italy.
- Meanwhile, in Bayelsa State, NDLEA operatives apprehended a 28-year-old woman in the Amarata area of Yenagoa on April 24.
- She stands accused of producing and distributing cakes laced with illicit drugs, particularly cannabis sativa. Upon her arrest, a significant number of drugged cakes, weighing 1.5kg, were seized from her possession.
- This incident comes on the heels of the arrest of a 20-year-old hair stylist and a dispatch rider on March 10 in Yenagoa, who were also implicated in a similar offense.
Furthermore, in Sabon Tasha, Kaduna, NDLEA operatives seized 24,180 ampoules of pentazocine injection, weighing 135.5 kilograms, from undisclosed perpetrators.
In Adamawa state, a teenager was nabbed during a raid on his residence in the Shuware area of Mubi on April 26. Authorities uncovered 20.700kg of cannabis in his possession.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives recovered a staggering 310.7kg of cannabis during raids conducted on April 25 in Mushin, Lagos state.
