From Mustapha Adamu, Kano
The Kano/Jigawa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted 491,000 tablets of Tramadol Hydrochloride (USP 225mg), popularly known as Tramadol worth duty paid value of over N150 million.
The Area Controller, Comptroller Dalhatu Abubakar, disclosed this while handing over the illicit drugs to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC.
Abubakar said the tablets were smuggled into the country in a dark-tinted Lexus 450 SUV, but were intercepted by his eagle eyes operatives along the Gumel-Birniwa border axis in Jigawa State, following credible intelligence.
He noted that the producers and manufacturers of the illicit drugs were not the consumers, and the shippers and transporters are also not the consumers, but were solely exported to Nigeria and the end-users.
According to him, “Today’s event is the handover of seized 491,000 tablets of Tramadol hydrochloride, popularly known and branded as Tarmol brand, USP 225 milligram.
“The item has a duty-paid value of N150,360,179 only. This describes another commitment of officers and men of Kano/Jigawa Area Command,
which is in line with the contraption of customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi’s desire and deliberate intention to rid our society of millions of illicit and dangerous drugs.
“The drugs were intercepted along the borderline of Gumel-Birniwa border axis in Jigawa State following an intelligence report. It was concealed and smuggled into the country using a dark-tinted SUV Lexus 450 designed to avoid suspicion in the wee hours of the night.
“It baffles me that these drugs that we showcase today, the producers and manufacturers, are not the consumers.
Notable to mention that the packs are labeled for export only, meaning they are not meant for consumption in the producer’s country. The shippers and transporters of the drugs, they are not the consumers. The importers and dealers are equally not the consumers of these drugs. Having said this, the question we should ask ourselves today is, who is the consumer of these illicit drugs? Could it be yourself, your father, your mother, myself, my son, my sister, my wife, or my cousin? There are endless questions to ask about the end users of these drugs.
“Another pertinent question worthy of asking is what are the attendant consequences of these drugs on our society, our economy, our health, our government resources, and national security? Similarly consequences of the drugs on government resources may include significant burden on high cost of treatment and rehabilitation among addicts cost of social welfare to cater for addicted individuals and their families. Similarly on our national security it may include instigation of corruption and corruption tendencies and use of drug money to finance terrorism,” the Kano/Jigawa Area Controller, Comptroller Abubakar noted.
