The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has confiscated 892,400 bottles of codeine-based syrup, valued at N6.2468 billion, during a significant operation. The seizure was confirmed in a statement released by the NDLEA's spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday.
The codeine-based syrup was discovered in five containers at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State. The operation, conducted on August 14th and 15th, involved a joint examination by NDLEA agents, Nigerian Customs officials, and other port stakeholders.
"The seized opioid bottles were packed in 5,337 cartons, weighing a total of 133,860 kilograms. They were shipped from India in five containers," Babafemi disclosed.
In a separate operation in Ekiti State, NDLEA agents, supported by the Nigerian Army, other security agencies, and local youths, raided the Ise Forest Reserve at Saalaja Camp on August 14th. They destroyed 21,800 kilograms of cannabis sativa cultivated on 20 hectares of farmland.
The following day, NDLEA officers intercepted a Sienna bus along the Onitsha-Enugu road in Enugu, recovering 200.2 kilograms of cannabis and arresting the driver, 41-year-old Okoro Emmanuel.
Additional arrests were made across the country. On August 12th, Joseph Apeh, 45, and Diamond Nnabuike, 21, were detained with 145,400 tramadol pills at Gadar Tamburawa in Kano. On August 13th, a cannabis plantation spanning six hectares was raided in Alaka village, Ogun State, resulting in the arrests of 70-year-old Fidelis Egede, Samuel Sylvanus, 31, Jato Samson, 33, and Francis Blessing, 28.
In Abuja, NDLEA officers intercepted a truck on the Kwali-Gwagwalada expressway on August 13th, seizing 30,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection and arresting three suspects: Ifeanyi Sunday, Jeremiah Paul, and Edet Ubokobong.
In Niger State, Ifeanyi Chukwueze was arrested on August 15th in Kontagora town with 28,500 tramadol pills concealed in a loudspeaker. Meanwhile, in Kogi State, Abba Yakubu was detained on August 14th with 40,000 tramadol pills en route to Kontagora. Another suspect, 39-year-old Tochukwu Onah, was arrested in Lokoja on August 15th with 1,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection.
Babafemi praised the efforts of the NDLEA and its partners in these operations, underscoring the agency's commitment to combating drug trafficking and abuse across Nigeria.
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