Nigerian authorities intercepted nearly half a million amphetamine pills hidden in machinery coming into a Lagos port, an official said on Thursday.
The 451,807 captagon tablets were seized at the Apapa sea port in September, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Chairman Mohamed Marwa told reporters.
“This was traced to have come from Lebanon,” he said. “We have arrested one of those involved in the importation and he is helping us to trace all those involved.”
Marwa estimated the tablets were worth $11 million, or roughly 6 billion naira.
In April, Saudi Arabia announced a ban on imports of fruits and vegetables from Lebanon, blaming an increase in drug smuggling.
The move came after Saudi authorities had made repeated appeals to their Lebanese counterparts on the matter.
Saudi customs authorities at Jeddah had foiled an attempt to smuggle in more than 5.3 million Captagon pills, hidden in pomegranate shipments from Lebanon.
Captagon is an amphetamine manufactured in Lebanon and probably also in Syria and Iraq, according to the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT). (with agency reports)
