The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has busted a major drug syndicate at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, seizing tramadol worth over N3.9 billion.
An Indian national, Gupta Ravi Kumar, and three Nigerians — Ogunlana Olanrewaju, Olushola Kayode, and Bakare Muheeb — were arrested in connection with the haul.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said officers intercepted 2,248,000 tramadol pills (200mg/225mg) smuggled from Delhi, India. The drugs, disguised as multivitamins in 114 cartons, arrived on an Ethiopian Airlines flight on September 8.
Operatives, who had the shipment under watch, pounced on a clearing agent and two truck drivers trying to move the consignment out of the airport on September 11. The next day, Kumar was picked up as he attempted to take delivery.
In a separate operation on September 7, NDLEA officers stopped Onyeganochi Ifeanyi, a Qatar Airways passenger bound for Doha, with 900g of skunk hidden in crayfish. He confessed the bag was given to him by a Qatar-based Nigerian, Ohadiegwu Uchenna, who was also arrested. A raid on Uchenna’s hotel room in Ajao Estate yielded another 200g of skunk.
NDLEA Chairman, Retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, hailed the operatives for their vigilance and urged them to sustain the agency’s aggressive but balanced approach to drug control.
