The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, ‘NDLEA’, has discovered how drug baron, Afam Ukatu, imported drugs into the country.
It was gathered that in only October 2019, two containers containing 1,284 cartons of Tramadol with a market value of over N22 billion was imported into Nigeria by the suspect.
Daily Report Nigeria reported earlier that the anti-narcotic agency on Wednesday, April 12, arrested the alleged billionaire drug baron, who was behind the N3 billion Tramadol deal involving suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari and his Intelligence Response Team, IRT.
Spokesperson of the agency, Femi Babafemi, stated this in a statement on Tuesday to counter insinuations by some hirelings that the NDLEA had no evidence to pin a crime on Ukatu, who is the Chairman/CEO of Mallinson Group of companies.
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”After months of surveillance, Ukatu was eventually arrested on board a flight to Abuja at the MM2 terminal of the Lagos airport, Ikeja on Wednesday 13th April.
“Investigations reveal he’s 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. Ukatu owns pharmaceutical and plastic manufacturing companies, which he used as a cover to import illicit drugs into Nigeria.
The Agency said in the course of investigating the N3 billion Tramadol saga between Ukatu and the Abba Kyaris IRT team, its operatives unearthed more evidences establishing how Ukatu has been importing large quantities of Tramadol far above the approved threshold allowed into the country.
“In one instance, Ukatu through his Mallinson Group of companies imported into the country two-conatiner loads of five different brands of Tramadol in October 2019 through the Apapa ports in Lagos. All the evidences so far gathered show that the imported Tramadol brands were far above the threshold permitted to be imported into Nigeria.”
The statement added that the suspect will soon have his day in court.
