Nigerian Man Arrested At Oyarifa In $2.1 Million Drug Bust

• The Narcotics Control Commission arrested a 56-year-old Nigerian at Oyarifa in a multi-million dollar drug bust
• The arrest occurred on March 18, 2025, and led to the discovery of narcotics at the suspect’s hideout
• The Narcotics Control Commission said the suspect is linked to several past drug-related incidents in Ghana

The Narcotics Control Commission arrested a 56-year-old Nigerian at Oyarifa in a drug bust.

The suspect has been identified as Uchechukwu Chima.

The arrest occurred on March 18, 2025, and led to the discovery of narcotics at the suspect’s hideout.

Field tests confirmed the substances as narcotics, with an estimated street value of $2.1 million.

According to a statement from the commission, Chima had been under surveillance for some time and is linked to several past drug-related incidents in Ghana.

"The suspect, Uchechukwu Chima who has been a target for NACOC for some time now, is noted to be the brain behind some seizures/arrests made by NACOC in the past."

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Drug shipment stopped from coming to Ghana

In November 2024, Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency seized 50,000 pills of Tramadol 225mg being smuggled from Ghana into Lagos.

The pills were hidden in a bus allegedly belonging to GUO Transport Company.

The Daily Post in Nigeria reported that the bus was stopped on November 16 along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

Further reports indicated that the busted drug highlights concerns over smuggling between the two West African countries.

Tramadol is popular with smugglers because of the demand for it. This has prompted some interventions against it.

For example, in 2018, broadcaster Nana Aba Anamoah embarked on a campaign on tramadol abuse to sensitise the youth, and Ghana at large about the cancer that was destroying and killing both old and young alike.

BBC exposes Indian company

YEN.com.gh reported that the BBC exposed an Indian pharma company manufacturing highly addictive opioids and exporting them illegally to Ghana.

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The BBC found packets of them, branded with the Aveo logo, for sale on the streets of Tamale.

In India, pharma companies generally cannot legally manufacture and export an unlicensed drug.

Narrowing in on Tamale, the Northern Region capital, BBC reported that many young people are taking illegal opioids.

One of the city's chiefs, Alhassan Maham, has created a voluntary task force to disrupt the work of drug dealers.

Source: YEN.com.gh