Apapa Customs Intercepts Tramadol Worth N1.3 bn

In an effort to ensure the country is free from illicit and hard drugs, the Apapa Area Command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has made yet another interception of 55 cartons of Tramadol worth 1.375 billion naira.

Briefing journalists in Lagos, the controller of the command ; Campt. Malanta Yusuf said that in the perpetrators’ usual ways of trying to evade customs duty, a 20 feet Container of tramadol was declared as a stainless steel hotpot.

Compt. Malanta said, “Acting on credible intelligence, our officers on the 21st of July, 2022 successfully intercepted a 20ft container with no. SUDU 7538656, which was manifested as 272 cartons of stainless steel hotpot. It was captured and declared as cooking appliances measuring/checking instruments and furnace burners to evade arrest”.

However, during physical examination by customs and relevant stakeholders what was found inside the container were 55 cartons of Tramadol tucked away in food flasks. Inside each of these cartons are 50 rolls while each roll and pack contains 10 packs and 10 sachets, respectively.

Compt. Malanta also reiterated the command’s resilience in ensuring that importation of illicit drugs and all contraband goods are detected, seized and handed over to the relevant agencies for further appropriate actions. He also expressed the full backing of NCS under the leadership of Col. Hameed Ali to always support the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and all other partnering members in the fight against unauthorized goods.

Also speaking on the development was the Apapa commandant of NDLEA, Ameh Inalegwu, represented by the assistant commander narcotics ,Sani Abdullahi who confirmed the presence of the agency during the examination of the container. He said that NDLEA and Customs have always had a strong synergy in intelligence sharing that helps both agencies in the fight against hard drugs. He said each of the cartons is worth N25 million and 55 cartons is estimated to be 1.375 billion naira.

Similarly, undisclosed numbers of cartons of Omeprazole was equally seized by the command on the grounds of no National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) number.

According to Compt. Malanta, “it has no NAFDAC stamp and since there is no NAFDAC registration it is considered as illicit importation and therefore the dosage and composition may not likely be fit for human consumption”.

The container was said to have arrived since last year January but on sensing that Customs may have gotten hold of the contents, the Importer abandoned the process of clearing it.