Nigeria drug agency seizes 320,000 tramadol pills, arrests 75-year-old suspect

Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a significant haul of opioids and other illicit substances concealed within a truck carrying building materials in Taraba State. The operation, prompted by credible intelligence, led operatives to a truck en route from Onitsha to Jalingo.

A thorough search at the Nukkai Timber Shade in Jalingo uncovered a massive drug cache hidden beneath the cargo. Seized items included 320,840 capsules of tramadol, 600 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 4,500 pills of rohypnol, and 299 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup. A 22-year-old suspect, Buhari Abdullahi, was arrested at the scene.

In a separate operation in Ebonyi State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 75-year-old man, Okebe Samuel, in Okposi. The septuagenarian was allegedly found with 300 grams of skunk, which he reportedly sells in retail sachets to local youth. The agency highlighted that age is not a barrier to law enforcement.

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A thorough search of the vehicle by NDLEA operatives at the Nukkai Timber Shade, Jalingo, led to the discovery of a massive drug stash concealed beneath the cargo, while a 22-year-old suspect, Buhari Abdullahi, was promptly arrested.

Further operations across other states resulted in more arrests and seizures. In Imo State, a 32-year-old female suspect, Chioma Okeke, was arrested in a drug enclave in Orlu with 8 kilograms of skunk. Edo State saw the arrest of four traffickers, including three women, in Benin City, with various substances like skunk, Loud, and methamphetamine seized. In Kano, a 19-year-old was apprehended with 38 kilograms of skunk, and in Gombe, a 28-year-old was intercepted with 15,000 tramadol capsules.

The NDLEA also reported continued sensitization campaigns against drug abuse in schools across Oyo, Lagos, Anambra, and Kano states. Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commented on these operations.

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Demonstrating that age is no barrier to the enforcement of the law, NDLEA operatives in Ebonyi State tracked down and arrested a 75-year-old grandpa, Okebe Samuel, at Okposi. The septuagenarian was found in possession of 300 grams of skunk, which he sells in retail sachets to the youth in his community.