Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, have arrested members of a syndicate involved in the illicit importation and trafficking of lethal synthetic opioid, Fentanyl, a drug which is one hundred times stronger than tramadol and capable of causing mass casualty among the youth population being targeted by the cartels.
The arrest of two members of the syndicate, Odoh Collins Oguejiofor and Oliver Chigozie Uzoma at Ogbogwu market, Onitsha Head Bridge, Onitsha South Local Government Area, in well-coordinated and clinical operations, is coming on the heels of an alert issued by the anti-narcotics Agency in November 2022 that some criminal elements were plotting to flood the Nigerian market with the drug.
Fentanyl is currently responsible for over seventy per cent overdose deaths and a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the United States.
According to a statement released to the members of the press by the Director, Media and Advocacy, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Headquarters, Abuja, Mr Femi Babafemi, following credible intelligence and synergy with local and international partners, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency traced the illicitly manufactured drug to Ogbogwu market, Onitsha Head Bridge after months of undercover monitoring.
Mr Oguejiofor was the first to be arrested while on a business mission with packets of one hundred micrograms of Fentanyl, while the arrest of Mr Uzoma, a major dealer in other illicitly manufactured pharmaceutical opioids followed.
While packs of liquid Fentanyl were recovered from Mr Odoh, different quantities of banned and controlled drugs including Fentanyl were seized from Mr Uzoma.
Reacting to the arrest of members of the syndicate, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brigadier General Buba Marwa retired commended all officers and men of the Agency involved in the operation while directing them to intensify the crackdown on other members of the cartel who may have gone underground.
He thanked the agency’s international partners for the huge confidence in them and their support while urging parents and other stakeholders to be vigilant and warn their young ones against attempting to experiment with this illicit substance.
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