NDLEA Arrests Businessman Over Tramadol Hidden in Mannequins, Nets Octogenarian Drug Dealer

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Onyebuchi Romans, after uncovering a large consignment of tramadol concealed inside mannequins he was transporting for his clothing business.

Romans was intercepted on Friday, January 9, along the Oron–Ibaka Road in Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State while travelling with full-body mannequins allegedly destined for Cameroon. A search conducted by NDLEA officers revealed that the mannequins had been stuffed with tramadol pills weighing a total of 5.3 kilograms.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the suspect claimed he resides in Cameroon and was returning after the Christmas and New Year holidays. Investigations revealed that the tramadol was purchased in Onitsha, Anambra State, and concealed in two mannequins to evade detection while being trafficked across the border for sale.

The arrest forms part of a broader nationwide interdiction operation carried out by the agency over the past week. In another development in Akwa Ibom State, NDLEA operatives rearrested an 80-year-old ex-convict, Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta, at Mmanta-Abak village in Abak Local Government Area. Nkanta was found with 5.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, barely three years after serving a two-year jail term for drug trafficking.

Babafemi described Nkanta as notorious for illicit drug dealings, noting that the octogenarian had returned to the trade despite previous conviction and imprisonment.

Meanwhile, in Oyo State, NDLEA officers arrested multiple suspects in Ibadan and recovered assorted illicit drugs, including Colorado, Ghana Loud, Canadian Loud and skunk. Among those arrested was 45-year-old Remi Bamidele, popularly known as “Aluko the Mafia,” from whom over 10 kilograms of cannabis strains, two vehicles and cash exhibits were recovered.

Further arrests and seizures were also recorded in Edo, Niger, Taraba and Adamawa states, as the NDLEA intensified efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks nationwide.