The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Retired Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, yesterday, gave details of how loads of Captagon, a brand of Amphetamine meant for insurgents camps in Nigeria, were intercepted by operatives of the Agency at the Apapa port in Lagos.
Speaking at a media briefing to update the public on the recent seizure, Marwa condemned the evil intent of those behind the importation of the illicit substance at a very critical time when the nation is facing security challenges.
He vowed that the Agency would not rest untill everyone connected with the consignment is arrested and prosecuted.
According to him, Sometime in March, this year, they received intel from their international partners on the shipment of illicit narcotics to Nigeria from the Middle East through the Apapa port.
He said the container passed through three countries and was transloaded in a North African country, but his agency kept track of it along with their partners.
Marwa further disclosed that after series of examinations, on Wednesday, 1st September, 18,560 tablets of drug suspected to be Amphetamine (Captagon) weighing 3.2kg was found deeply concealed in one of the coils, while on Thursday, September 2, the other two machines were dismantled, and in all, a total of 451, 807 tablets, weighing 74.119 kilograms, were discovered hidden inside their rotor coils.
He pointed out that going by the street value of about $25 per tablet, the importer would have raised $11.3million, which is equivalent to six billion naira, regretting that the dealers were only interested in the profits.
He expressed worry that the drug is used to fuel criminalities across the country, noting that this is the first time the drug is being brought into any African country South of the Sahara.
Speaking in the implications of using the drug, Marwa disclosed that the tiny, highly addictive pill, widely available across the Middle East, produces a euphoric intensity in users, allowing them to stay awake for days, making them fearless, predisposes them to reckless action that puts the lives of people around them in jeopardy.
He assured Nigerians that the Agency would continue to work hard with support from local and international partners to block availability and access to all manners of illicit substances across the country.
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