The Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) seized 23 packages of tramadol with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) worth N1.8 billion between January and March.

At a news conference in Lagos on Wednesday, the customs area comptroller, Mohammed Yusuf, said that the pharmaceutical products were imported from India and Pakistan.

Mr Yusuf listed the seized items as 22 packets of tramadol (225mg) and 12 packets of tramadol (120mg) tablets.

According to Mr Yusuf, the seizures were recorded based on intelligence-driven operations within the airport.

He added that the tramadol tablets in their custody had been scheduled for handing over to the commander of narcotics, Murtala Muhammed Airport Command of the National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

“In the spirit of inter-departmental cooperation, this will further strengthen our collaboration in safeguarding our youths from the use of harmful substances which can endanger their lives and the environment.

“We shall intensify more efforts in making our communities a safer place for all of us to live,” he said.

On export, and for the period under review, he said the command recorded the exportation of goods worth N100.93 billion from the country.

“These exported goods include non-commercial and commercial foods with a total weight of 653 tonnes and Free On Board (FOB) value of N4.81 billion.

“The command is working hard to promote export businesses to boost forex earnings for the country,” he said.

The customs boss noted that the command generated N21.4 billion as revenue in the period under review.

“It is pertinent to note that in the corresponding period of 2022, the command generated N17.5 billion, which shows a progressive difference in the sum of N3.8 billion, depicting a 21.97 per cent increase.

“It is worthy to note that the revenue activities of the command comprise importation and exportation of legitimate goods, goods under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS).”

He pointed out that in the area of stakeholder engagement, the command had maintained an open-door policy and resolved many issues of common interest with concerned stakeholders.

(NAN)