EFCC officer in operation

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,
NDLEA, has recovered 2,592kgs of codeine and
1,988kgs of Tramadol in warehouses in Kano
State and also taken into custody a Malian and
four Nigerians in connection with the
psychotropic drugs.
Spokesperson of the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju,
told newsmen yesterday that 2,592kgs of codeine
and 1,988kgs of Tramadol were recovered from
five secret warehouses located within the
metropolis by officers of the State command.
He said, “This arrest is part of efforts to reduce
the sales and demand for psychotropic
substances in the state.

The State Commander of the NDLEA, Hamza
Umar, identified the suspects as Ikechukwu
Ukwuoma (34), Nura Ibrahim (30) and Zakari
Muhammadi, a Malian.

According to him, Ukwuoma was arrested with
2,010kgs of codeine cough syrup, Ibrahim with
886kg of Tramadol and Muhammadi with 850kg
of Tramadol.

Other suspects, Earnest Asogwa (34), Ikenna
Osuizugba (34), were apprehended with 582kg of
codeine and 252kg of Tramadol respectively.
The arrests and seizures were said to have
become possible following an intelligence report
about the activities of the suspects.

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“The abuse of psychotropic drugs like codeine
and Tramadol is prevalent among the youth and
married women in the state.

“It is common to see iced bottles of codeine
instead of beverage drinks in a gathering of
young people,”
Hamza stated.

Ukwuoma, a secondary school certificate holder
and father of three, is one of the major
distributors of codeine cough syrups in the state.
The Imo State indigene told NDLEA officials that
he realised he could make a lot of money dealing
in codeine more than any other business.

“The drug sells fast and I was only interested in
the profit because the price of codeine in Kano is
twice the cost price in the east.

“I did not know how the officers discovered my
warehouse where the drugs were kept,” he said.
Ibrahim who hails from Nasarawa Local
Government Area of Kano State, also said he
was attracted by how lucrative the sale of the
Tramadol was in the state.

The Malian, Muhammadi, blamed his friends for
his involvement in drugs.

Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Col.
Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (retd.) said that
the agency will intensify its sensitisation
campaign programmes in the state.
“This is one important way of reducing the
demand and supply for both codeine and
Tramadol tablet by youths.

“The agency will continue to do its best in
protecting the health and future of these youths,”
Abdallah stated.