The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has thwarted an attempt by an ex-convict, Olanrewaju Bada Akorede, to export a consignment of rohypnol to South Africa through the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
According to a statement by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, the illicit drugs were concealed within a shipment containing gari, shoes, men’s singlets, and other items.
Akorede, previously convicted in December 2023 for attempting to traffic 4.90kg of tramadol and 2.10kg of rohypnol, was sentenced to two years imprisonment or a fine of N900,000, which he paid to secure his release. However, he returned to the same crime shortly after.
In a separate operation, NDLEA officers arrested an Italy-based businesswoman, Cynthia Akaeen, on December 18, while attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Italy via Addis Ababa.
She was caught with 9,190 tramadol tablets weighing 6.00kg and confessed she was promised €1,000 for the delivery.
Furthermore, NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Onitsha, Anambra State, on December 17, seizing 418,330 pills of tramadol and tapentadol, along with 8,000 bottles of codeine syrup.
At Lagos’ Tincan Island Port, 180,000 bottles of codeine syrup, shipped from Mundra, India, were intercepted during a joint inspection by NDLEA, Customs, DSS, and other agencies. The consignee, Makata Emmanuel, was taken into custody.
In Borno State, two suspects, Ishaya Wabba and Samaila Audu, were arrested in a Toyota Sienna carrying 293,000 tramadol capsules, a pistol, and 26 rounds of live ammunition. Another suspect, Sanusi Abdul Hamid, was caught in the Gwange area with 260,000 tramadol capsules.
These operations underscore the NDLEA’s relentless efforts to combat drug trafficking and safeguard public health across Nigeria.
