The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) have agreed to intensify efforts to curb the illegal shipment of opioids such as tramadol and codeine-based syrups from India to Nigeria. The decision was reached during a virtual meeting between NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), and NCB Director-General, Anurag Garg, held on Wednesday.
Marwa expressed concern over the scale of opioid smuggling, revealing that over one billion pills of tramadol and 14.4 million bottles of codeine syrup were seized in Nigeria between January 2024 and June 2025. He called for stronger intelligence sharing and support in training NDLEA officers in areas such as financial investigations, dark web tracking, and dismantling drug networks.
In response, Garg pledged NCB’s commitment to the partnership, stressing the need for coordinated global action against transnational drug syndicates. He offered training support tailored to NDLEA’s needs, particularly in areas like darknet surveillance and clandestine lab investigations.
