The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 25 million pills of tapentadol, an opioid three times stronger than tramadol, along with 350,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup at the Tincan port complex in Lagos.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi announced the seizure on Sunday, noting the operation was based on intelligence that led to the monitoring of three containers. The tapentadol consignment, valued at approximately ₦13.7 billion, was discovered in one container, while another contained 175,000 bottles of Barcadin cough syrup with codeine. The third container held 175,000 bottles of CSC cough syrup.
Additionally, an 80-year-old man, Aremu Shojobi, was arrested in Lagos with 14 kg of cannabis, claiming to have sold illicit drugs for 25 years. In related operations, NDLEA officers recovered 226 kg of cannabis from the home of a community leader, Alhaji Bashir Talba, who remains at large.
Further seizures included 700,000 pills of exol-5 along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway and 451 blocks of cannabis weighing 213 kg in Port Harcourt. Other arrests were made in Plateau and Kwara states involving significant quantities of cannabis.
These operations highlight NDLEA’s ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking and abuse in Nigeria.