National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, has said it would collaborate with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NSC, to stop the smuggling of Tramadol and other illicit drugs into the country.

Its Director In Charge Of Seaports, Omolade Faboyede, said this when she led a delegation from the agency to visit the headquarters of the Council in Lagos, saying the plan was to guarantee a healthy citizenry.

According to Faboyede, the large amount of drugs that comes through the nation’s seaports has undermined national security as well as negatively affected individuals, families and communities.

“The milligrams of Tramadol allowed is between 50mg and 150mg per dosage but what is being imported into the country is 225mg per dosage.

She said the Boko Haram insurgents were the ones consuming the drug so that they would be able to commit all the alleged crimes attributed to them.

Faboyede said there was the need for all the stakeholders operating at the seaports to collaborate and stop the importation of illicit drugs into the country, saying recently there was a drink called Narcot-tushy or Chapman popularly consumed by Nigerian youths.

She said this was usually the combination of: Tramadol, Benylin, Codeine, Cannabis, Blackcurrant, Cucumber and Ethanol, saying when the youth consumed this mixture, it used to ravage them on daily basis.

The NDLEA boss said unfortunately, those youths consuming the substance were supposed to be among the future leaders of the nation.

She said the Chairman of NDLEA, retired Colonel Muhammad Abdallah, nominated her as the Director of Seaports in January with the mandate of finding solutions to the importation of illegal drugs into the country.

Also, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello, in his response, commended the team for deeming it fit to visit the council, which he said is the ports’ economic regulator.

Bello spoke through Director, Legal Services of the council, Samuel Vongtau, also commended the efforts of the NDLEA, especially, in the areas of arresting and prosecuting smugglers of drugs.

According to him, the creation of the seaport operation is a welcome idea and a strategic planning by the NDLEA, saying with the taking-off of the office, the operations of the agency would be felt more by Nigerians.

He said the agency would be able to record more achievements through efficient service.

Bello also said the NSC was about to implement the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) which he said would simplify the NDLEA’s operations at the ports.

He said when the CTN becomes operational, it would involve an open declaration of cargoes at the port of origin to ascertain their contents, saying the relevant government agencies would be able to ensure easy tracking of such cargoes from the port of origin up till the port of destination.

Bello said the CTN would be operated electronically and guide against compromise, saying the system had been in operation in America as an Advanced Cargo Declaration System.

He assured the agency of the council’s partnership in making the nation’s ports friendlier in the interest of the nation’s economy.