Operatives of the National Drug Enforcement Agency in three major busts of drug cartels operating in Amuwo Odofin, Idumota and the SAHCO shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos

The NDLEA arrested six members of a syndicate using their official cover to facilitate the smuggling of illicit drugs through the Skyway Aviation Handling Company warehouse at the Lagos airport into the country have been arrested.

1,210,000 pills of tramadol were also seized from them in a painstaking operation that lasted for weeks.

The NDLEA also recovered 14,481,519 pills of Tramadol and bottles of codeine syrup worth over 13 Billion in street value.

The anti-narcotics agency noted that the three intelligence-led operations began with the raid of House 8/10 Hon. Wahuha Avenue, Divine Estate, Ago Palace area of Amuwo Odofin on Sunday, October 29, where 490,000 pills of tramadol and 81,519 bottles of codeine syrup measuring 4, 510, 000mls were recovered.

In a similar operation on Tuesday, October 31, NDLEA operatives swooped on a secret warehouse operated by a billionaire Idumota trader, Nwaoha Anayo located at Onitire, Aguda area of Surulere where 12,700,000 pills of tramadol were recovered.

The spokesperson for the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, revealed the developments in a statement obtained by our correspondent on Sunday.

Babafemi noted that the six suspects – Oladele Sanya-Olu; Lawal Itunu Temitope; Sanamo Daniel; Udeh Monday; Musa Mutalib and Unege Icibor, in relation to the illegal drug trade through SAHCO, are already in NDLEA custody, while three other suspects – Sarki Salami; Abdullahi Aliyu (aka Aboki); and Monday Anwal, are now on the run and wanted by the NDLEA.

At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, NDLEA operatives on Sunday, October 29, intercepted another businessman, 50-year-old Nwokolo Ifeanyi during the outward clearance of Air France flight AF 878 to Amsterdam, Netherlands via Paris, France at the boarding gate and was body scanned.

Babafemi revealed that the result turned out to be positive for illicit drug ingestion.