NDLEA intercepts 1.63 million tramadol pills bound for Kano

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in two trucks travelling to Kano, disrupting the operations of a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo–Benin Republic–Nigeria corridor.

In a statement on Sunday, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said intelligence-led operations led to the interception of the trailers on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

According to the NDLEA, the first truck was intercepted on July 2, with operatives recovering 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg hidden in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor. The 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru, was arrested.

A second truck was intercepted on July 4 while also heading to Kano. Officers recovered another 777,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a similar compartment and arrested the driver, Muhammed Nuhu, also 22.

The agency said investigations linked the two trucks to the same trafficking syndicate responsible for an earlier seizure of 558,900 tramadol pills on June 21.

NDLEA said the syndicate smuggled the drugs from Togo through the Benin Republic into Nigeria before transporting them to Kano.