The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) have agreed to intensify their collaboration in tackling the illicit trafficking of opioids between both countries, particularly tramadol and codeine-based syrups.
This agreement was reached during a virtual meeting on Wednesday between the Chairman of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd.), and the Director-General of the NCB, Mr. Anurag Garg.
In a statement released by the NDLEA spokesperson, Marwa expressed serious concern about the volume of opioids entering Nigeria from India, warning of the growing threat to public health and national security.
“The main reason why I requested this engagement is the illicit importation of tramadol and codeine cough syrup into Nigeria from India,” Marwa said. “Between January 2024 and June this year, we seized over one billion pills of opioids, mainly tramadol, and more than 14.4 million bottles of codeine syrup.”
Marwa emphasised the urgent need for closer collaboration, building on the Memorandum of Understanding signed between both agencies in 2023. He also appealed for enhanced training and capacity building for NDLEA officers.
“We would very much appreciate your support in training our officers — including on financial investigations, cybercrime, and dark web monitoring,” he added.
In response, NCB Director-General Anurag Garg acknowledged the scale of the problem and expressed readiness to collaborate more closely with Nigeria.
“We are dealing with transnational drug syndicates that have no respect for borders or national laws,” Garg said. “Unless we work together, we cannot end this malady.”
Garg pledged India’s support in sharing intelligence, expertise, and training resources, noting that NCB is prepared to host NDLEA officers at its training facilities. He listed specific areas of training support, including clandestine lab detection, precursor tracking, and darknet investigations.
“This meeting is a good opportunity to take our collaboration forward,” Garg added.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the virtual meeting was attended by senior officials from both anti-narcotics agencies.
