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By Steve Agbota
Every year, millions of naira worth of tramadol and other illicit drugs are imported from Asian countries by unscrupulous elements through Nigeria’s seaports and land borders. Majority of the drugs are usually intercepted by security agents, especially the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), during the physical examination or based on intelligence gathering.
Investigations by Daily Sun revealed that 30 per cent of such drugs are smuggled into the market by corrupt elements at the ports and sold to drug peddlers and even some pharmaceutical shops.
After the drugs have been seized, corrupt elements (port workers) would go there in the night, break the containers and cart away some of the illicit drugs and sell to drug peddlers.
In 2019, some packets of tramadol concealed in an ambulance were about to be smuggled in one of the terminals at Apapa Port but the cache was eventually intercepted by the NCS following intelligence.
Sources who spoke with our reporter confirmed that the act of breaking containers and stealing the contents is the order of the day in some of the terminals. Most of the drugs are smuggled out of the terminals by port workers while the security agents are behind the ones taking out from the warehouses.
These are the links through which the drugs cartels get their supply, even with the heavy presence of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the ports. This has resulted to a strong chain of suppliers and users of hard drugs in Lagos ports, involving port workers, dockworkers, security agents and among others.
During the course of our investigation, it was established that illicit drugs are widely sold and consumed by a large number of youth, commercial drivers, artisans and others who either live or work within the Lagos port environments. It was also revealed that the drugs are being sold and consumed across the cities in Lagos state.
For instance, Shitta in Surulere is one of the hotbeds for drug abuse and comsuption in Lagos; follow by Ajegunle, Orile, Agege, Okokomaiko, Ijora-Badiya, Mushin among others.
Daily Sun findings show that the drugs are also consumed by majority of truck drivers, motor-boy and Okada riders. It was also revealed that those drug peddlers who scattered across the Lagos Ports environment are being patronised by some security agents even the young clearing agents.
In recent times, officers of the NCS who are addicted to drugs or abuse drugs were dismissed from service. Even clearing agents linked the shooting of one of their young members by a Customs officer to psychotropic intake.
When our correspondent visited some stands at the Tin Can Island and Apapa port areas, the drug merchants’ display drugs such as sexual enhancement, Panadol, Malaria drugs among others. But the major drugs they are selling are illicit ones, which include; Tramadol, Codeine, Rohypnol, Colorado and among other dangerous drugs.
Conversely, at a spot around the Coconut bus stop, Tin Can Island Port axis, an Aboki, a drug peddler sold Tramadol to our correspondent who pretended to be a user and a new customer, prescribed different milligrams ranging from 200 milligrams and above to our correspondent. This means there are various types of the milligrams of the illicit drugs circulating in the market.
The Aboki said the least price for a tablet of tramadol is N200 while there are others that are being sold for N300, N500 and above depending on the milligrams. When our correspondent demanded for 225 milligrams, the Aboki asked our correspondent to pay N300. Our correspondent pleaded before the Aboki could agree N200 for a dose of 225 milligrams.
In the course of investigation, it was discovered that at the Lagos Port, illicit drugs are becoming a norm around the port areas as some were displayed openly by the drug merchants, while others hide the drugs underneath other drugs for cover up.
At one of the stands of these drug peddlers at Apapa Port, about few kilometers away from the Apapa Customs command and NDLEA office, one of those selling the drugs sold a tablet of Tramadol to our correspondent for N200. He even told our correspondent that “Oga if I wan high well well, buy the one for N300 or N500. E go work well well. Power go dey well well walahi as he smiles,” he said.
When our correspondent disguise to be friendly with him, and told the Aboki he would like to be selling drugs, first he declined to disclosed the source of where they get the drugs. After some weeks, he finally disclosed that they get the drugs from the port workers while they also get some from Chad through their brothers there whenever they run out of stock and they couldn’t get them on time from the suppliers at the ports.
He told our correspondent that he can start with N50,000 or N100, 000. He said our correspondent have to come in the midnight to meet the port workers who sell for them. He said some big boys from the Island and Lekki do come down to the port to buy.
As it was previously reported, drug use habits in Nigeria have devolved with young people increasingly resorting to potent mixtures of several drugs at the high risk of fatal overdoses. For instance, gutter water, a widely consumed cocktail of drugs, is a mix of codeine, tramadol, rohypnol, cannabis and water or juice. Some young adults are also turning to crude concoctions as alternatives, including smoking lizard parts and dung as well as sniffing glue, petrol, sewage and urine as inhalants.
Investigation also revealed that manufacturers in India have rebranded the tramadol to Tafrodol, Gebedol, Fakadol, Ladinax and other funny names in order to evade detection by Customs officials at the nation’s ports and borders. While the name change makes the drug look like tramadol, contains two ingredients that should not be combined and can reportedly cause respiratory infection, coma and even instant death.
The drugs being rebranded, on the packet says “Made in India, for export only.” That is because the dosage is at 225 milligrams and above, which is more than twice what is legal and recommended in most countries.
Speaking with Daily Sun, a Pharmacist, Mr. Godwin Olurounbi said that tramadol’s rebranding for shipment into Nigeria had been ongoing for sometimes.
According to him, there was a criminal collaboration between some pharmaceutical companies in Asia, especially India, and criminal gangs in Nigeria that import tramadol in concealed brands into the country. Examples include Fakadol and Tafrodol, an opioid medication used to treat severe pain.
Also, speaking with Daily Sun, the Tin Can Island Customs Command Public Relations Officer, Mr. Uche Ejieseme said that the Command has zero tolerance for things like tramadol and other illicit drugs.
He said even pharmaceuticals that are allowed, there is a circular from Customs headquarters that directed that all pharmaceuticals must be examined and released from the mother terminals, which means that no pharmaceutical must leave the mother terminal to bonded terminal.
“And the reason is not far fetched. The reason is to help us monitor particularly those ones that are actually not allowed to filter in or to leave in anywhere. That is why the headquarters set that standard. For us we have followed it very rigorously, no pharmaceutical leaves mother port.
“We have been making seizures. They know we are very serious about issues like that. That is why I said we have zero tolerance. In the past, we made seizures of tramadol and we handed over to appropriate authority. Today now, we are planning to handover 32.5kg of cannabis to NDLEA in the spirit of intelligence collaboration and synergy,” he added.
According to him, the Command has been making seizures of hard drugs but the only thing it does not advertise it.
“I’m happy you come and see this one yourself now. The Controller has directed that we should handover immediately to NDLEA for future actions. So we can’t say much about where the drug peddlers getting their sources.
“We know as far we as concerned, we have taking a very holistic steps to ensure that any supply chain can never be from Tim Can Island port because we have zero tolerance for it. It is unfortunate that people still see the drugs around. I know that very soon, it would be fizzled out,” he said.
On why importers and agents are still bringing in the tramadol, the Vice President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Kayode Farinto, said it is urge to make quick money, adding that they are 30 types of psychotropic that are even worst than tramadol coming into the county and the youth are taking them.
“I was at a seminar in Dubai and one Indian man took me round on one course, I asked the India man, why is it that your country is flooding my country with tramadol? Because there is particular assignment I did on psychotropic substance.
“On the carton of the tramadol, it was written boldly on it not to be consume in India. I said why is it that the Government of your country wants to kill the youth of my country? And the man told me the ball is in the economy of your country.
He pointed out that Nigeria has not had a situation where the Government is serious in tackling the issue of drug abuse and other psychotropic substances in the country.
He lamented that there are trade bans or sanctions that can be given to India if Nigerian Government notices that 90 per cent of psychotropic substances are coming into Nigeria. He said the Government needs to either sever its diplomatic relationship with India or give India warning or trade sanctions, which is possible.
“It is not as if we cannot live without India. 99 per cent of these psychotropic substances are coming from India and it will be written in the carton not to be consume in India. Since our Government fails to do something about it, the urge to make money will always be in every society.
“Not even when our economy is in comatose, every business man intention is to make money. But a patriotic Nigerian will know that psychotropic substances go far beyond making money. It kills a nation and the youth of that nation. Whether we like it or not, it increases the vices in the society.”
He said Government needs to go to international arena to report India that they are allowing psychotropic substances through the nation’s waterways to kill Nigeria’s economy and the youth, saying that India will defend itself by making sure that every cargo coming into Nigeria is given thorough checks.
However, that the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Buba Marwa, had recently said the agency had made seizures of illicit drugs worth over N80 billion, adding that there are about 4.5 million people in Lagos state that are into consumption of illicit drugs.
Marwa had said this during a visit to the Lagos NDLEA command last week while ordering operatives of the agency to wipe out drug cartels in the state.
“In the country, an estimate of 15 million people belongs to one or more aspects of illicit drug dealing. This means about 4.5 million people in Lagos state are into illicit drugs” he said.
