The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has discovered five secret warehouses of codeine and Tramadol drugs in Kano State and arrested a Malian and four Nigerians in connection with the drugs.

The agency’s spokesperson, Mitchell Ofoyeju, on Friday, said 2,592kgs of codeine and 1,988kgs of Tramadol were recovered from five secret warehouses located within the metropolis by officers of the Kano State command.

“This arrest is part of efforts to reduce the sales and demand for psychotropic substances in the state,” he said.

The Kano State Commander of the NDLEA, Hamza Umar, gave the names of the suspects as Ikechukwu Ukwuoma (34), Nura Ibrahim (30) and Zakari Muhammadi, a Malian.

According to him, Ukwuoma was arrested with 2,010kgs of codeine cough syrup, Ibrahim with 886kg of Tramadol and Muhammadi with 850kg of Tramadol.

Other suspects, Earnest Asogwa (34), Ikenna Osuizugba (34), were apprehended with 582kg of codeine and 252kg of Tramadol respectively.

“The abuse of psychotropic drugs like codeine and Tramadol is prevalent among the youth and married women in the state. It is common to see iced bottles of codeine instead of beverage drinks in a gathering of young people,” Hamza stated.

One of the suspects, Ukwouma told NDLEA officials that he realised he could make a lot of money dealing in codeine more than any other business.

“The drug sells fast and I was only interested in the profit because the price of codeine in Kano is twice the cost price in the east. I did not know how the officers discovered my warehouse where the drugs were kept,” he said.

Ibrahim who hails from Nasarawa Local Government Area of Kano State, also said he was attracted by how lucrative the sale of the Tramadol was in the state.

The Malian, Muhammadi, blamed his friends for his involvement in drugs.

Azeez