MORE controversies seem to be brewing around the alleged N150 million bribe offer said to have been rejected by some officers of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, in respect of tramadol consigment.

THE League of Maritime Editors and Publishers, LMEP, over the weekend called on the management of Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, to make public the identity of the importer or importers who offered the sum of N150million bribe to the Customs for   one of the 40 containers of tramadol to be released.

Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Friday said it intercepted another 13 containers of Tramadol, a banned addictive substance, and other items at Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos.

OFFICERS of the Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Thursday, rejected a bribe of $412,000 (N150 million) offered them by importers of 40 containers of Tramadol from India, to allow the illicit import into the country.

Ado-Ekiti—NATIONAL Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees, NUCFRLANMPE, has warned that no fewer than 25,000 workers could lose their jobs in the chemical and non-metallic sector of the nation’s economy, following the recent ban on importation and production of codeine and tramadol by the Federal Government.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, last week destroyed  a variety of counterfeit, fake, expired and unwholesome products including controlled drugs such as codeine containing cough syrup and tramadol, at the  Bajoga Road Dump Site in Gombe, Gombe State.

Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Sokoto Area Command, has seized 68 cartons of tramadol and 120 kilogrammes of cannabis worth N21 million.

In the bid to completely shut the doors of the nation’s port against unscrupulous importers of Tramadol and other restricted drugs into the country, the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has stepped up its offensive against the unauthorized importation, distribution, sales and use of this category of medicines, as the Service has resorted to also picking up the classified items in bits and pieces, and other various ingenuous means of concealments.

The driver of a truck loaded with 30 cartons of tramadol concealed in vehicle’s spare parts, intercepted by policemen attached to Trade-Fair Division, Lagos State Police Command, said he was paid N70,000 to deliver the drugs.

The Director General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Moji Adeyeye, has said that the Nigerian Customs seized not fewer than 35 containers of tramadol at various ports in the country but has, however, handed only nine containers to the agency.

FOLLOWING the recent ban on production of cough syrup with codeine, Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State, yesterday, urged the Federal Government to  extend the  ban to tramadol and other controlled drugs to break the link between the demand and supply chain.

The Federal Operation Unit Zone B of Nigeria Customs Service said on Thursday it seized 1, 500 bags of smuggled rice and vegetable oil valued over N65 million in Kaduna.

An unidentified male of Abraka community, Ethiope East local government area of Delta State, was weekend confirmed dead after ingesting a drug substance suspected to Tramadol.

Customs officials in Nigeria on Tuesday said they had seized banned drugs, including the powerful pain killer tramadol popular with jihadists such as Boko Haram.

A Consultant Pharmacist, Dr Clever Okeke has warned that the use of Tramadol to get high or for delayed ejaculation could lead to depression and irrational behaviour.