NDLEA arrests man for presenting tramadol as yam flour

Juliana Francis

A 51-year-old man, Usman Hassan Ramadan, has been arrested by Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), for allegedly being in possession of substance suspected to be tramadol.

NDLEA Operatives, working at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, MAKIA Special Area Command, Kano intercepted the powdery Tramadol weighing 3.5 kilograms. The suspect, while trying to fool the operatives, claimed that the powdery stuff was yam flour.

Ramadan, who claimed to be an ex-soldier from Borno State, was arrested at outbound screening point on his way to board Ethiopian Airline to Dubai. He had stuffed his luggage with black and white polythene bags containing a powdery substance which upon inspection by officers and men of NDLEA turned out to be grounded Tramadol tablets.

The NDLEA spokesman, Jonah Achema, said: “Initially, the suspect claimed he was carrying ‘alubo,’ local yam flour but later confessed that he had to grind the tramadol tablets in order to deceive security operatives. He claimed to have sustained injuries during the civil war and that he needed Tramadol at all tries to relieve him of the pain.”

Mohammed Ajiya, NDLEA MAKIA Commander said the case of powdery Tramadol was strange to the Command. He added: “We have made seizures of Tramadol several times, but that it now comes in powdery form calls for extra vigilance. It means drug merchants are never short of ideas. No matter what, we will continue to beat them to their antics.”