Italy-bound Drug Courier who Hid Tramadol in Jackets Escapes Jail with N2M Fine

ByEditor

Aug 16, 2025 #Edobor Ambrose Ali, #Italy-bound Drug Courier, #N2 Million Fine, #NDLEA, #Tramadol in Jackets

Femi Ashekun/

A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted Italy-bound traveller, Edobor Ambrose Ali, for attempting to smuggle 7.6 kilograms of tramadol through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport but handed him a lenient sentence that allows him to walk free on payment of a N2 million fine.

Ali, from Edo State, was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on June 13, while attempting to board an Air France flight to Milan.

The agency said his luggage, flagged during a routine scan at the tarmac, contained 14,410 tramadol pills concealed in the linings of multiple winter jackets.

In court, the prosecution told Justice Deinde Dipeolu that the consignment, made up of 225mg and 200mg doses, had been hidden inside orange and red jackets.

Ali was arraigned on a two-count charge of unlawful exportation of the banned substance and pleaded guilty.

During his earlier interrogation by NDLEA operatives, Ali admitted he had been recruited as a courier and paid €2,000 to transport the drugs to Italy. He claimed he was motivated by financial hardship.

At the sentencing, the judge imposed a two-year jail term on each of the two counts, to run concurrently, but gave Ali the option of paying N2 million in fines instead.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of his international passport to the federal government for cancellation.

The sentence means Ali will avoid prison time once the fine is paid, a decision that has drawn attention for its leniency given the seriousness of the offence and the scale of the drug haul.