By; RAYMOND TEDUNJAYE, Lagos
Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said that it has intercepted truck loads of smuggled prohibited drugs worth over N242,688,000.
The drugs identified as Tramadol Hydrochoride tablets in the range of 225mg/200 mg were seized along Lagos Ibadan Road / Apapa Road on Tuesday.
According to the Controller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), the drugs were concealed in a total of 5,056 cartons, parked in two trucks on two units of 40 foot containers.
He disclosed that the drugs are prohibited and not good for consumption without prescription. He added that investigations are ongoing to unravel the involvement of customs personnel in the clearing of the consignment.
He further said that the importers and the customs operative who colluded with them to allow the dangerous drug to enter the country is yet to be arrested.
”This drug is prohibited and not good for consumption without prescription. A lot of women and youths now take it to relieve stress, but its harmful to health if taken outside medical guidance”, Ali said.
Speaking to newsmen in Lagos, Hameed Alli explained that, “the 5056 cartons of Tramadol came in different batches. For those of us who are aware, these drugs are dangerous and are mostly used by our youths and women.
“This drugs fall under absolute prohibition list. That’s why when people complain of Customs harassing them on the highway, how would this have been intercepted if the trucks conveying them were not stopped on the roads. We are not deliberately stopping vehicles on the roads.
“These drugs were seized at areas in Apapa road, Sango-Ota and along Lagos-Ibadan express road. If we close our eyes and allow these prohibited drugs to come in, the damage it will cause to our children can never be quantified.
“We have two layers of defence to stop illicit and prohibited drugs like this. If it leaves the ports and borders, our officers will stop it on the highway. It is part of our mandate to prevent the illegal entry of this kind of products.
“Anybody who keeps taking these drugs will not be useful to himself or the nation. Therefore, we need the support of Nigerians to fight this menace. These are the ones we have nipped in the bud, only God knows the numbers of those that have escaped arrest.
“I also admit my officers are compromising, otherwise, these drugs will not find their way into the country. On the officers that released this to come in, we are currently doing profiling of everybody involved in this drugs clearance. Immediately we are done with that, we will make our arrest. We have our ways of getting this information, so we will get to the roots of this clearance very soon.
“It is in realisation of this compromise by some of my officers that we have set up this second layer of defence, so that when these drugs beat the system at the ports or border stations, our men will stop it on the roads.”
He said the customs will intensify its battle against smuggling and continue to prevent prohibited items from entering the Nigerian markets to safeguard the economy and health of Nigerians.
Last year, the Federal Operations Unit Zone A, evacuated 773 cartons of same tramadol capsules with 225mg and 700 cartons from an unnamed warehouse in Lagos with a suspect still facing trial at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Some of the side effects of the drug include; agitation,nervousness,anxiety,seizures (convulsions),skin rash,dizziness and spinning sensation.
Other side effects includes hallucinations,fever,fast heart rate,overactive reflexes,nausea,vomiting,upset stomach,diarrhea,constipation,loss of coordination,headache,drowsiness
