NDLEA arrests Malian, four Nigerians with 4.580 kg of drugs in Kano

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the weekend arrested a Malian and four Nigerians in connection with illegal sales of 4,580kgs of psychotropic drugs in Kano.

The seized drugs, comprising 2,592kgs of codeine cough syrups and 1,988kgs of Tramadol were recovered from five secret warehouses located within the metropolis by officers of the Kano State command.

The arrest, according to NDLEA spokesman, Mitchel Ofoyeju, was part of efforts to reduce the sales and demand for psychotropic substances in the state.

Kano State Commander of the NDLEA, Mr. Hamza Umar gave the names of the suspects as Ikechukwu Ukwuoma, 34, arrested with 2,010kgs of codeine cough syrups; Nura Ibrahim, 30, caught with 886kgs of Tramadol and Zakari Muhammadi, a Malian found with 850kgs of Tramadol.

Others were Ernest Asogwa, 34, caught with 582kgs of codeine syrup and Ikenna Osuizugba, 34, found in possession of 252kgs of tramadol.

The abuse of psychotropic drugs such as codeine cough syrup and tramadol is prevalent among young people and married women in the state.

Ikechukwu Ukwuoma, a secondary school certificate holder, who is married with three children, is one of the major distributors of codeine cough syrups in the state. Ikechukwu, who hails from Orlu Local Council of Imo State, said that he was in the business to make money.