The Apapa Premier Port of the Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted a 40-foot container from India filled with tapentadol, a variant of tramadol worth N1.560 billion.
The Customs Area Comptroller of Apapa Command, Compt. Yusuf Malanta said the cargo had arrived at Apapa port on July 3, 2022, and the customs have been monitoring its movement.
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According to the Comptroller, the container was declared to be filled with chocolate but on inspection, cartons of Ok POP sweets were discovered.
The drugs, however, were hidden behind the cartons of sweets.
Malanta gave a breakdown of the drugs seized, commending the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for its collaboration that’s bringing forth results.
He said, “The importer cleverly concealed the drugs at the back of the container, just to undermine our officers.
We found out that he had 20 cartons of the drugs. Each of the 225mg had 838,500 tablets. For the 120mg, there are 90,10,000 tablets.
“These drugs are deadlier than the normal tramadol, you can imagine the havoc it would cause if it had escaped into the market. You can agree with me that most of the criminal actions taking place today in our society is as a result of consumption of these types of drugs.
“Therefore, whoever is importing these kinds of drugs, we are telling him today that our collaboration efforts is fully informed and we cannot relent.
“The container has been in the port since July 3rd 2022, moving from the mother port down here, the importer is trying to buy time maybe he can escape our watch, but Behold, we are really on top of our game and we would continue being on top of our game. If he is not tired of importing, we would not be tired of making him lose his investment, we would ensure that that he is trailer and brought to book.
“The joint corporation with the NDLEA and other agencies around here has yielded a fruitful result for the command.
We would continue doing that to make sure that the serene environment is created for compliant traders and for goods that are in tandem with Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA)
“We thank God for giving us wisdom to track and seize these kinds of drugs because it contravenes section 64, 46 and 47 CEMA Act.
“I am advising the importer to please desist from these kind of importation, it is harmful to humans.
We would trail this importer, with the the help of our officers here, we would bring him to book and ensure he is treated accordingly”
