The Nigeria Customs Service, Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command on Wednesday said it seized tramadol worth N1.8bn between January and March 2023.
It said the items were imported into Nigeria from India and Pakistan.
The command’s Area Controller, Mohammed Yusuf, disclosed this at a press conference in Lagos.
Yusuf said the seized tramadol packets were above the threshold allowed by law to be imported into the country.
According to him, the tramadol came into the country in 22 packets of 225mg tramadol and 12 packets of 120mg from the sheds of the Nigeria Aviation Handling Company Limited and Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited.
He said, “Through credible intelligence, the command recorded seizures of packages of pharmaceuticals products. The product included 22 packets of 225mg of tramadol and 12 packets of 120mg of tramadol that were concealed and imported into the country through India and Pakistan.
“The above seizures were recorded based on intelligence-driven operations within the airport. The total duty paid value of the seizure stood at N1.8bn.”
Yusuf added that the seized drugs will be handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for further action.
“This will further strengthen our collaboration in safeguarding our youths from the use of harmful substances which could endanger their lives and the environment. We shall intensify effort in making our communities a safer place for all of us to live,” he said.
Yusuf also disclosed that the command generated N21.4bn in revenue between January and March 2023.
He added, “The command generated N21.4bn revenue between January and March 2023. It is pertinent to note that in the corresponding period of 2022, the command generated N17.5bn which shows a progressive difference of N3.8bn, depicting a 22 per cent increase.
“It is worthy to note that the revenue activities of the command comprise importation and exportation of legitimate goods, goods under the Economic Community of West African States Trade Liberalisation Scheme.”
