Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have seized opioids pills and bottles which value was put at over N5billion.
The agency made the seizure in an operation against another tramadol cartel at their warehouse in Amuwo Odofin Area of Lagos State. Two of their kingpins were also arrested.
The anti-narcotics operatives also dismantled clandestine skuchies laboratory in Ogun State.
They recovered seven tons of skunk in Lagos, Borno, Ondo, Edo, Enugu, Katsina and the FCT.
The seizures and arrests were contained in a press release by the NDLEA Head of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, today.
The clandestine skuchies laboratory was discovered in a remote part of Sagamu of Ogun State, on Saturday.
Several equipment and various quantities of illicit substances used to mass produce the dangerous new psychoactive substance were also recovered from the laboratory.
“The drug cartels took the first heat on Tuesday, 10 January from determined officers of the agency who intercepted an imported consignment of Loud, a strong variant of cannabis, weighing 4, 878.72 kilograms along Awolowo Road Ikoyi, Lagos.
“After a near fatal encounter with some suspected fake security agents escorting the drugs, the NDLEA operatives succeeded in recovering the consignment, with a white truck marked BDG 548 XX conveying it.
“This was followed by the seizure of 121,630 pills of pharmaceutical opioids and some quantity of Molly from a dealer, Charles Okeke, on Wednesday, 11 January at Idumota Area of Lagos Island.
“Another effort by the agency to bring the drug cartels to their kneels paid off on Friday, 13 January.
“Operatives tracked and located a major warehouse for pharmaceutical opioids at 17 Sir Ben Onyeka Street, Off Ago Palace Way in Amuwo Odofin Area of the state.
“The owner of the store, Aloysius Okeke, was arrested,” Babafemi stated in the release.
According to him, illicit drugs recovered from the warehouse include 3,264,630 million pills of tramadol; 3,490 bottles of codeine and 915,000 capsules of pregabalin 300mg.
“This came on the heels of the arrest of a suspect, Olarenwaju Lawal Wahab, who distributes for the cartel same day.
“Recovered from his white Mercedes distribution bus include 14,690 bottles of codeine-based syrup; 402, 500 tablets of tramadol 250mg; 50,000 tablets of tramadol 225mg and 210,000 capsules of pregabalin 300mg,” Babafemi added.
He stated that NDLEA operatives, in the early hours of Saturday, 14 January, discovered and dismantled a clandestine laboratory on the outskirts of Sagamu, Ogun State.
He said skuchies, a highly potent psychoactive substance made with a blend of cannabis sativa, tramadol, rohypnol, exol-5 and industrial codeine, was being produced in large quantity in the laboratory, packaged and distributed in jerry cans and bottles.
Babafemi also revealed that recovered from the warehouse before it was sealed off were all the equipment used for the production of the illicit drug.
These included power generators, industrial gas cylinders, drums and kegs as well as various quantities of illicit drugs.
Among the seized illicit drugs were 214kgs cannabis; 1,440 capsules of tramadol; 480 tablets of swinol; 1,440 tablets of rohypnol and 114 liters of industrial codeine.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives, the FCT Command, last Thursday, raided the notorious Tora Bora Hills and recovered 350.7kgs of skunk and 794 bottles of codeine hidden under rocks.
“This is even as 756kgs of cannabis sativa were recovered at Dawo Village, Kaga Local Government Area, Born State.
“They were transferred to the agency on Friday, 13 January by officers of the Nigerian Army, FOB 29 Task Force Brigade, Benishiekh, in conjunction with hunters group, based on intelligence from the state command of NDLEA.
“In Ondo State, operatives stormed Alayere, Akure North Local Government Area, where they arrested a suspect, Sunday Make, with 275kgs of cannabis sativa and seeds.
“A total of 272kgs of cannabis sativa were recovered from two suspects: Nwele Friday (35) and Egbe Nnaemeka (47) at Ifo Layout, Abakpa Nike, Enugu State.
“In Katsina State, 34.3kgs of cannabis were also recovered from an uncompleted building in Muduru, Mani Village after which the owner, Murtala Isiya, was arrested in a follow up operation.
“In the same vein, a notorious drug dealer who is physically challenged, Abiodun Emaria (40), was, on Saturday, 14 January, arrested with 6.2kgs of cannabis at his hideout in Ohada village, Uhunmonde Local Government Area, Edo State,” Babafemi stated in the release.
Meanwhile, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) CON, OFR, DSS, has commended the officers and men of Lagos, FCT, Ondo, Enugu, Borno, Katsina and Edo commands of the NDLEA for the arrests and seizures.
He charged them and their compatriots across the country to sustain the heat on drug cartels in Nigeria, while balancing their efforts on supply reduction with drug demand reduction activities.
