The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has said
the ongoing investigation of a billionaire drug baron, Chief Afam Ukatu, has
led to the discovery of how the suspect imported into Nigeria in a single month
in October 2019, two containers containing 1,284 cartons of tramadol with a
market value of over N22 billion.
The agency revealed this in a statement on Tuesday to
counter insinuations by some people it referred to as hirelings who alleged
that NDLEA has no evidence to pin a crime on Ukatu, who is the Chairman/CEO of
Mallinson Group of companies.
The spokesman of the agency in the statement said, after
months of surveillance, Ukatu has eventually arrested on board a flight to
Abuja at the MM2 Terminal of the Lagos airport, Ikeja on Wednesday 13th April.
He said Investigations revealed that he has been a major
importer of large consignments of different brands and high dosages of tramadol
hydrochloride, ranging from 120mg, 200mg, 225mg and 250mg, all of which are
illicit.
He further said Ukatu owns pharmaceutical and plastic
manufacturing companies, which he used as a cover to import illicit drugs into
Nigeria.
According to him, in the course of investigating the N3
billion tramadol saga between Ukatu and the Abba Kyari’s IRT team, NDLEA
operatives have unearthed more evidence establishing how Ukatu has been
importing large quantities of tramadol far above the approved threshold allowed
into the country.
He noted that in one instance, Ukatu through his Mallinson
Group of Companies imported into the country two-container loads of five
different brands of tramadol in October 2019 through the Apapa ports in Lagos.
He said all the evidence so far gathered shows that the
imported tramadol brands were far above the threshold permitted to be imported
into Nigeria, adding that: “No doubt the suspect will soon have his day in
court.”
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