The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized 8,381,600 capsules of Tramadol and 56,782 bottles of codeine in major raids in Lagos state.

Recall that ahead of Christmas celebration, the NDLEA chairman, Brig-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd), had ordered a sustained surveillance on some targets at Satellite Town and Alaba Rago areas of Lagos.

NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the Satellite Town target was eventually raided on Thursday, December 23, when the drug kingpin, Ezekiel Ibe, was arrested and over five tons of high milligrams Tramadol (225mg and 100mg) were recovered from his warehouse.

A breakdown of the seized drug shows 7,991,600 Tramadol tablets and 390,000 capsules of same weighing 5,468.894 kilograms.

In another raid on Monday, December 20, following surveillance of a notorious neighborhood at Alaba Rago, one Surajo Mohammed was arrested with 941.14kg of cannabis while 56,782 bottles of codeine were seized from the store of another drug lord who is still at large.

Meanwhile, operatives of the NDLEA have arrested 22-year-old Amaka Ogonachukwu for attempting to smuggle wraps of cocaine concealed in cooked white rice for her boyfriend, Monday Imagbebenikaro, 40, in the custody of the Edo State command of NDLEA.

Imagbebenikaro was arrested earlier along Airport Road, Benin City, Oredo LGA, for dealing in crack cocaine, cannabis and Danabel (anabolic steroids).

In a related development, an outbound passenger to Italy on Turkish Airlines, Ovire Cyril, has been arrested with 114 wraps of heroin with a gross weight of 1.80kg during routine search at Gate “C’ Departure Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.

The drugs were concealed inside the pockets of four denim trousers packed in a black suitcase. The suspect, who confessed that he was pushed into the crime by hardship after he lost his Job, claimed he was promised €5,000.00 if he successfully deliver the consignment in Italy.

On the same day, during outward clearance of Ethiopian Airline passengers’ luggages at the same gate, a male passenger, Osakue Evbuomwan, travelling to Milan, Italy was arrested with 1.55kg of Tramadol concealed in a Ghana-must-go bag.