Customs, NDLEA, DSS bursts 74.119kg Captagon Pills import

BY EGUONO ODJEGBA

frm left, Yusuf, Gadzama and a customs chief attached to the area command with packs of the seized narcotic

In continuation of its week long strenuous and meticulous search suspected hard drugs, through engineering dismantling   processes of industrial machine and its cylinders, a joint operation of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Department of State Service (DSS) at the Apapa Port, has discoverd more quantity of Captagon Pills, bringing the total to 74.119kg.

Pinnacle Time reported yesterday the uncovering of the illegal import of the stimulants being misused by insurgents, concealed inside the cylinders of imported machine that was landed at the Apapa Port, Lagos.

DSC Abubakar Usman, the Apapa Customs Command spokesman, said the operation have been on for a week to identify cylinders containing the illicit drugs based on intelligence, noting that as the effort progressed, sniffer dogs were deployed to assist in the search; adding that although some quantity of the hard drugs have been recovered, but that the search was continuing to find out if there are more drugs hidden in the machines.

Providing an update, Usman said a total of 74.119kg of Captagon pills was gotten at the end of the exercise, adding that the drugs ingeniously hidden in various components of the machine is equivalent to 451,807 tablets, now packed in 18 parcels.

The statement reads: “Relying on credible intelligence, the three services had embarked on a painstaking week long operation which resulted in their first discovery on Wednesday evening.

“Acting on reasonable suspicion that more of the drugs may be hidden inside various components of the machine, they continued search on Thursday using sniffer dogs and more personnel which led to more discoveries.

“This seizure is a fallout of renewed synergy and cooperation aimed at curbing all forms of unlawful activities at Nigeria’s largest and premier port of Apapa which processes the country’s highest volume of maritime trade.”

Usman added that Comptroller Malanta Ibrahim Yusuf, Area Controller of Apapa Command,  Samuel Bashir Gadzama, NDLEA Apapa Port Commander, and DSS Director in charge of the port were  at the fore of the week long operation.

Fact check indicates that the long-term use of the drug leads to remarkable side effects. The most common of them are extreme depression, lethargy, sleep deprivation (insomnia), occasional palpitation, heart and blood vessel toxicity and malnutrition.

Dismantled cylinders concealing the drugs

According to nature.com, an online portal that specializes in researches and analysis of medicines, “Captagon, the trademark name for the synthetic stimulant Fenethylline, was first reported by a German pharmacist in 1961 for the potential treatment of hyperactivity, depression and narcolepsy1.

“However, due to its addictive and hallucinogenic properties, it was listed as a controlled substance by the United States (1981) and the World Health Organization (1986), making it illegal to buy or sell Captagon in most countries.

“Captagon has been reported to be a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant with stronger and longer lasting effects on fighting aggression, detachment, cognitive enhancement, and alertness than one of its main metabolites, Amphetamine.

“Captagon has been reported to be a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant with stronger and longer lasting effects on fighting aggression, detachment, cognitive enhancement, and alertness than one of its main metabolites, Amphetamine.

The dismantled machine housing the cylinders

Emptying the pills concealed in the machine cylinders

Some of the cylinders used for the concealement

The drug and the suspect according to the statement have been handed over to NDLEA for further analysis, investigation and interrogation.