Customs Intercept N13bn Drugs, Military Hardware At Lagos Airport | SEE PHOTOS

Illegal drugs worth about N13.8billion, have been intercepted by operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos state.

Customs Area Controller, Sambo Dangaladima, who was speaking to newsmen at the command’s headquarters in Ikeja on Tuesday, said they intercepted 162 cartons of banned Tramadol hydrochloride 225 and 250mg, including military and police hardware at the cargo section of the airport.

“These milligrams (225 and 250mg) are above allowable thresholds as contained in extant laws. The hard drugs originated from India and Pakistan and they were routed through Addis-Ababa to Lagos.

“In summary, we have a total of 162 cartons, 92,387 packs, 929,970 sachets, and 9,299,700 tablets of Tramadol hydrochloride with a value of N13.8bn”

.“The suspect connected to this importation could not provide the end user certificate which is the lawful prerequisite for such importation. We have detained the suspects and the military wares, while investigation is ongoing.

“We are very mindful of the fact that 2023 is an election year in Nigeria; the inflow of traffic of these hard drugs that induce our youths to do extraordinary things (when taken) are bound to increase,” the Controller said.

The military hardware recovered include; 309 pieces of military helmets,106 pieces of military arm-less jackets, 352 pieces of ballistic body armored pads,119 pieces of police badges, five pieces of bullet-proof jackets, 33 pieces of body side ballistic pads, and 105 pieces of ballistic chest plates.

According to Dangaladima, the illegal drugs will be handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).