Again, NDLEA intercepts N9.8bn drugs imported from India

The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have again intercepted another batch of seven containers bearing 1,229,400 bottles of codeine syrup worth over N9,835,200,000 at the Port Harcourt Ports complex, Onne, Rivers State.

This is coming barely three weeks after the NDLEA operatives seized 6,125 cartons of codeine syrup containing 1,050,000 bottles of the opioid worth over N7 billion at the Onne ports.

The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, July 19, 2024.

Babafemi stated that the latest seizure made on Thursday, July 18, is the fourth and last set of such consignments that have been under the watchlist of the agency’s Maritime Special Operations Unit Targetting Team, which worked in partnership with the Port Harcourt Ports Command of the anti-drug agency and other security agencies, including the Customs Service for a joint examination of the targeted containers.

He noted that the seizure followed credible intelligence and months of diligent tracking of the consignments from their port of departure.

The NDLEA spokesman said at the joint examination of the containers with other security agencies on Thursday, all seven containers were found bearing a total of 8,774 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup with 1,229,400 bottles weighing 184,410 kilograms.

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Babafemi disclosed that a breakdown of the shipments that came from India via the Maersk Vigo Vessel showed that the container marked has 875 cartons with 175,000 bottles of codeine weighing 26,250kg.

According to him, other items in the container include 70 cartons of chilli cutters and 55 cartons of hyregra tablets weighing 1,100kg.

Another container marked contains 875 cartons of codeine with 175,000 bottles weighing 26,250 kg, while other items in the container include 15 cartons of chilli cutters and 60 cartons of hyregra tablets weighing 1,200 kg.

Another container has 1,754 cartons of codeine syrup containing 179, 400 bottles weighing 26,910kg.

Babafemi revealed that four other containers contain 175,000 bottles of the same substance each in addition to other items such as chilli cutters, cartons of hyregra tablets, and diclofenac used to mask the shipments.

Speaking on the seizure, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the anti-narcotic officers who had been working on the targeted containers for months for their diligence, vigilance, and professionalism.

Marwa equally commended the support received from other stakeholders at the ports which he said enabled the seamless and successful operations in the course of targeting the shipments.

He said the operation which had inflicted heavy losses on the cartels behind the shipments has further degraded their capacity and financial base.

The Star