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NDLEA Operatives Reject ₦10m Bribe After Seizing ₦16.68bn in Tramadol, Codeine at Ports

Kehinde Fajobi

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) refused a ₦10 million bribe offered to secure the release of 40-year-old Tsolaye Eburajolo, arrested for his connection to a massive drug seizure.

NDLEA intercepted 26.25 million tramadol pills and 508,400 bottles of codeine syrup, worth an estimated ₦16.68 billion, during joint inspections with Customs and other agencies at Tincan and Onne Ports between October 22 and 23.

NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi confirmed in a statement that the bribe was seized as evidence for prosecution.

“Other illicit consignments intercepted included 10 million tablets of Toradol Benzhexol and 28 plastic drums of methamphetamine weighing 700 kg at Tincan and Onne, respectively,” Babafemi reported, adding that “56 parcels of Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain weighing 28 kg, were also recovered from a container from Canada.”

At three courier facilities, operatives also seized 293 ampoules of promethazine and pentazocine, as well as 1.69 kg of cannabis and tramadol tablets hidden in hair extensions and shoe soles bound for the United States, UK, and Oman.

“A total of 2,118 tramadol pills hidden in 13 pairs of shoes bound for Cyprus were seized at Lagos airport on October 12, with an additional 380 pills recovered at the sender’s residence in Enugu,” Babafemi added.

The NDLEA also raided the Igbo-Igunuko shrine in Ajah on October 25, uncovering 2,760 kg of Ghanaian Loud cannabis.

“Two suspects, Gbenga Abiodun and Sunday Abiodun, were arrested, alongside Ademola Oyelakin, who was apprehended with 770 kg of the same substance along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway,” Babafemi noted.

In a hidden compartment under a bedroom floor in Lekki, operatives found 11,786 pills of tramadol, molly, Rohypnol, diazepam, and 64 bottles of codeine.

“Muhammad Abdullahi had concealed the drugs in a dug-out hole covered with a padlocked iron slate and hidden under his mattress,” Babafemi explained.

Elsewhere, Plateau State saw the arrest of Fadan Bindom with 65.85 kg of cannabis and 18 grams of tramadol. In Jos South, officers apprehended Sunday Agbata with 5,830 tablets and ampoules of bromazepam, diazepam, and pentazocine on October 23.

Babafemi added that a major drug distributor in Abuja, Umar Muhammed, 40, was caught on October 21 after a 198.5 kg cannabis seizure at Wuse Market Park.

In Edo State, 640 kg of cannabis was found hidden among vegetables at Ewu Junction, leading to the arrest of 27-year-old Austin Oruamen.

Another suspect, Adereti Kazeem, 35, was arrested on October 24 in Ile-Ife, Osun State, with 200 cannabis blocks weighing 133 kg.

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