A major illicit drug kingpin in Anambra, Okeke Chijioke (44), has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA).
Okeke’s arrest on Saturday 10th July 2021 followed credible intelligence and surveillance, which confirmed he stocked his warehouse at 3 Atunya street, Maryland estate, Nkwelle, Oyi Local Government Area of the State, with Tramadol branded as Tarkadol.
After a search of his warehouse, 548,000 tablets of Tarkadol weighing 302.500 kilograms were recovered, with the suspect accepting ownership of the substances recovered.
Authorities at the NDLEA say a preliminary investigation has established that Tarkadol is a brand of Tramadol that has just been introduced into the market to evade attention.
“The substance has also tested positive to amphetamine. The drug was equally labeled 100mg pain reliever on its packs to avoid scrutiny, while laboratory tests confirmed it’s a 225mg drug.
“It was further discovered that the drug was manufactured in India and smuggled into Nigeria without NAFDAC number or certification. During the search on the warehouse, a double-barrel pump gun with 3 live cartridges, which license expired in 2019, was also discovered and recovered,” an NDLEA communique on Sunday partly reads.
In another related burst, the Benue State Command of the Agency on road patrol in Apir village on 14th July intercepted and seized 28,400 capsules of tramadol from one Dankawu Madaki, who hails from Misau LG, Bauchi state.
The suspects are expected to be charged to court as soon as proper investigations have been completed.
Commending the officers and men of the Anambra and Benue State Commands for sustaining the offensive action in the ongoing efforts to mop up illicit drugs from every community in all parts of Nigeria, Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) charged them to remain unrelenting in the discharge of their duties.
OPEC+ agrees to increase oil production by 400,000/bpd
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies on Sunday agreed to increase global oil production by 400,000 barrels per day.
OPEC and its Russia-led oil-producing allies, OPEC+, agreed to unleash barrels of bottled-up crude over the next two years by committing to restore all of the cuts they made at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The oil cartel announced the new development as economies pick up and crude demand recovers across the globe.
In a statement issued at the end of the 19th OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting on Sunday, the oil cartel said the new adjustment will take effect from August until December 2021.
“In view of current oil market fundamentals and the consensus on its outlook, the Meeting resolved to reaffirm the Framework of the Declaration of Cooperation, signed on 10 December 2016 and further endorsed in subsequent meetings, including on 12 April 2020,” OPEC said.
“Extend the decision of the 10th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting (April 2020) until the 31st of December 2022.
“Adjust upward their overall production by 0.4 mb/d on a monthly basis starting August 2021 until phasing out the 5.8 mb/d production adjustment, and in December 2021 assess market developments and participating countries’ performance.”
The organisation said it would continue to adhere to the mechanism to hold monthly OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meetings for the entire duration of the declaration of cooperation, in order to assess market conditions and decide on production level adjustments for the following month.
The group said it agreed to new production allocations from May 2022 after Saudi Arabia and others agreed to a United Arab Emirates (UAE) request that had threatened the plan.
