The Nigerian Customs Service has intercepted containers of tramadol worth N5 billion in Lagos.
The Spokesman for the service, Joseph Attah, confirmed this to journalists at the Customs Training College on Friday.
This comes barely three weeks after officials of the service destroyed over 50 containers of tramadol and other drugs worth about N7billion.
Attah said the Comptroller-General of Customs Strike Force in Zone ‘A’ intercepted the haul.
He said the smugglers believed that the festive period was a time of merriment and less vigilance, “but our officers intercepted the illicit drugs as the smugglers attempted to move it from Lagos to other parts of the country’’.
He said further: “On August 13, around 2:00 a.m., operatives of the Headquarters Strike Force Zone A intercepted a truck laden with dreaded codeine, tramadol and other controlled pain killers along Maryland, Ikeja road.
“The intercepted trailer contains illicit drugs and was immediately brought to the attention of the team leader of the force, Assist. Comptroller of Customs Usman Yahya, who deepened preliminary investigation that led to the discovery of a warehouse along Oshodi-Mile 2 road.
“The warehouse was stocked with tramadol, codeine and other unregistered pharmaceutical products without the National Agency for Foods Drugs Administration and Control number.”
Atth said the warehouse was immediately sealed with a detachment of well-armed officers to guard the place.
He disclosed that the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), had already directed a thorough investigation with a view to bringing all those connected to the drugs to justice.
He said that evaluation of those intercepted drugs had commenced, adding that a suspect who happened to be the truck driver was apprehended and in custody for the judicial process.
NAN
