The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Sokoto Command, has said it has seized 68 cartons of Tramadol and 22 cartons of Evergrip tablets worth N20 million in the state.
It also intercepted six cartons of expired cigarettes and 120 kilogrammes of Indian hemp worth over N1.2 million.
Addressing journalists in Sokoto Tuesday, the Customs Area Controller of the Command, Mr. Nasir Ahmed, said the 68 cartons of Tramadol was evacuated from a house in the Sokoto metropolis.
Ahmed stated that the illicit drugs were smuggled through Niger Republic as the main transit point.
The controller noted with dismay the negative effects of such illicit drugs on youths which leads to crime and banditry.
He explained that the Tramadol tablets comprised 200 and 225 miligrammes which were very dangerous.
“As you are aware, the regulated Tramadol is between 30 and 50 miligrammes. But these ones are above 200 miligrammes and posed serious risk to the society.
“We want the government to demolish this house in order to serve as a deterrent to people who want to use their houses as a warehouse for storage of contraband drugs.
“Let us do our best to stop these illicit drugs from entering Nigeria. The state government should educate the people through the media on the dangers of taking these dangerous substances,” he said.
The controller disclosed that the 120 kilogrammes of Indian hemp was intercepted at Kamba border post in Kebbi State.
He said the highly concentrated illicit substances were concealed inside the bales of second hand clothes so as to evade customs officers.
“The 120 kg of Indian hemp were hidden inside second hand clothes and it came from Togo and Benin Republic,” he said.
He pointed out that six cartons of expired cigarettes were repackaged by criminals in order to sell them to the public.
Ahmed stressed that investigation was ongoing in order to apprehend the smugglers of the illicit substances.
Ahmed further said the seized substances would be handed over to officials of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
He appealed to residents of border communities to assist the command in curtailing the menace of smuggling activities in the zone.
“We want the border communities to view smuggling as a danger to the youths and the economy and not as a business because these illicit substances are consumed by our children,” he added.
