NDLEA seizes 8.7 tonnes of tramadol at Lagos port, values haul above ₦6.98bn
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says it intercepted 8,725 kilograms of powdered tramadol hydrochloride at Apapa port in Lagos.
NDLEA said the shipment came from India and was declared as maize starch.
During a joint examination involving NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies, officials found 349 bags containing the substance.
The agency said laboratory analysis later confirmed it was tramadol hydrochloride.
NDLEA puts estimated street value above ₦6.98bn
NDLEA says the consignment had an estimated street value of more than ₦6.98 billion.
That is the agency’s estimate of what the drugs could be worth in the illicit market.
It is not a court valuation and does not represent money already realised from sales.
NDLEA says the shipment was intercepted before it could enter circulation.
Shipment was declared as maize starch
The agency said the consignment had been declared as maize starch.
That does not by itself establish criminal responsibility for every person connected with the shipment.
Any individual liability remains subject to investigation, formal charges where applicable, and court proceedings.
Other tramadol seizures reported
The Apapa interception was part of a wider NDLEA enforcement update covering separate incidents.
The agency also reported recovering:
- 18,000 tramadol tablets at Iyana Oba in Lagos;
- 30,100 tablets along the Zaria–Kano road;
- 49,500 tablets in Kaduna;
- 29,500 capsules in Utako, Abuja.
Those seizures are separate from the Apapa consignment.
What remains to be established
Investigators still need to establish who owned the shipment, how it was documented for import and where it was intended to go.
Any later arrest, formal charge or court filing would change the legal status of the case.
For now, the verified position is that NDLEA says it intercepted 8,725kg of powdered tramadol hydrochloride at Apapa port, concealed in a shipment declared as maize starch, and estimates the haul’s street value at more than ₦6.98bn.
