ABUJA — The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has disclosed that it seized over two billion pills of Tramadol across Nigeria over an 18-month period, reflecting an intensified enforcement campaign to disrupt illicit opioid supply chains and curb substance abuse.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), made the revelation while presenting operational progress updates, emphasizing that the anti-narcotics agency has aggressively targeted major smuggling routes, maritime ports, and land borders.

Beyond intercepted pharmaceutical opioids, the agency confirmed thousands of arrests involving major drug traffickers, significant convictions in federal courts, and expanded community rehabilitation programs aimed at supporting recovering substance abuse victims.

The seized Tramadol shipments, often manufactured in high, unauthorized dosages reaching 225mg and 250mg—carry a street value running into hundreds of billions of naira, representing a massive financial blow to organized transnational cartels.

NDLEA interdiction units uncovered complex concealment methods utilized by syndicates, including false-bottom freight trucks entering via land borders and altered shipping containers arriving through maritime ports.

Agency leadership stressed that preventing the two billion pills from reaching local markets shields millions of Nigerian youths from addiction while cutting off a major source of funding and chemical motivation for armed bandits, insurgents, and violent street gangs.

Alongside law enforcement actions, the federal government has approved new rehabilitation centers across geopolitical zones while the NDLEA collaborates with educational bodies, religious groups, and local communities to deepen preventive drug education.