The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) have intensified their partnership in a renewed effort to combat the smuggling of tramadol, codeine-based syrups, and other opioids into Nigeria from India.

This decision emerged from a high-level virtual meeting held on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, between NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), and the Director General of India’s NCB, Mr. Anurag Garg. Senior officials from both anti-narcotics agencies were also in attendance.

According to a press statement signed by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the meeting focused on intelligence sharing, joint investigations, and capacity building to counter the increasing threat of illicit drug flows between the two countries.

Gen. Marwa raised concern over the massive inflow of opioids from India, stating:

“In the last 18 months—between January 2024 and June 2025—we have seized over one billion pills of opioids, mainly tramadol, and more than 14.4 million bottles of codeine syrup. This is why we need the continued support and collaboration of the Narcotics Control Bureau of India.”

He also emphasized the need for further training support from the NCB, highlighting past successful collaborations in areas like drug investigations, financial tracking, cyber operations, and dark web monitoring.

Mr. Anurag Garg, in his response, acknowledged the urgency of the problem and reaffirmed NCB’s readiness to work closely with NDLEA in tackling transnational drug syndicates.

“We are dealing with criminal networks that have no respect for borders or national laws,” Garg said. “The only solution is collaboration. This meeting is a good opportunity to take our shared commitment forward.”

Garg also offered training support through NCB’s dedicated training centre in India, with a promise to tailor programs to NDLEA’s needs.

 “We will be happy to curate training on subjects like clandestine labs, precursor tracking, darknet surveillance, and more,” he said.

The virtual engagement builds on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two agencies in 2023 and signals a robust step forward in dismantling drug smuggling routes and transnational syndicates that exploit weak links between borders.

The NDLEA noted that the growing partnership is key to safeguarding public health and national security in both countries.