The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has thwarted attempts by transnational criminal organisations to flood Nigerian communities with large quantities of assorted illicit drugs during the yuletide season.

The NDLEA operatives frustrated the attempt and intercepted millions of tramadol 225mg pills, thousands of codeine syrup bottles and bags of Canadian Loud in consignments arriving the country ahead of the Christmas celebration.

The Director, Media and Advocacy in NDLEA Mr Femi Babafemi, said in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.

Mr Babafemi said that no fewer than 7,500,000 pills of tramadol 225mg was intercepted by the NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja.

This he said, was trafficked through the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc import shed of the airport and was intercepted by officers with the cooperation of men of the Nigeria Customs and other stakeholders.

Mr Babafemi said that the consignment which was taken into custody on Friday December 22, came onboard a Turkish airline with no country of manufacture or origin.

“Apart from being the first time such shipment would be seized on the airline’s flight, it was equally the first of such coming from Hamburg, Germany. The 7.5million tramadol 225mg pills were also specially designed and packaged as tamol-x concealed in 100 big cartons weighing 7,150kg, which arrived in the country on December 11 and placed under surveillance until last Friday.

“Preliminary tests of the tablets proved positive for tramadol hydrochloride,” the spokesman said.

In the same vein, operatives of the Lagos command of the agency on Wednesday December 20 conducted a search operation on two shops marked Chex Mat Global Link Limited at Trade Fair complex in Ojo area of Lagos.

Mr Babafemi said that 258 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup and eight cartons of codeine tablets were recovered.

He said the cartons contained 49, 200 bottles of codeine syrup and 46, 200 tablets of same opioid.

“The following day on Thursday December 21, NDLEA operatives raided a house in Mushin area of Lagos where a 70-year-old grandma, Selifat Cole and her son, Babajide Cole were arrested with 117.900kg of cannabis saliva,” he said.

(NAN)