Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an alleged major illicit drug kingpin in Anambra State, Okeke Chijioke (44).
The anti-narcotic agents also recovered 548,000 tablets of Tramadol branded as Tarkadol from Chijioke’s warehouse at 3, Atunya Street, Maryland Estate, Nkwelle in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The NDLEA spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said in a statement yesterday that Okeke’s arrest on Saturday 10th July, 2021 followed credible intelligence and surveillance, which confirmed he stocked his warehouse with the illicit drug.
He said: “After the search of his warehouse, 548,000 tablets of Tarkadol weighing 302.500 kilograms were recovered. The suspect accepted ownership of the substance recovered.
“Preliminary investigation has established that Tarkadol is a brand of Tramadol that has just been introduced into the market to evade attention.
The substance has also tested positive to amphetamine “The drug was equally labelled 100mg pain reliever on its packs to avoid scrutiny, while laboratory tests confirmed it’s a 225mg drug.
It was further discovered that the drug was manufactured in India and smuggled into Nigeria without NAFDAC number or certification