Nigerian drug lords in South Africa stock up on cough syrup

Nigerian drug lords and trafficking syndicates exploit security loopholes in South Africa to smuggle pharmaceutical opioids, particularly codeine and tramadol.

This was revealed by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the International Substance Use Professionals Network (ISSUP).

ISS research showed that international drug cartels, dominated by Nigerian drug syndicates, have made South Africa an operations base.

They exploit localised corruption and established routes to distribute hard narcotics domestically and across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Willem Els from the Institute for Security Studies told Biznews that surveillance teams monitor Nigerian drug lords in South Africa.

They frequently spot them holding or drinking from bottles of cough syrup because of the codeine content.

He explained that in recent years, Nigeria faced a codeine addiction epidemic. In response, the Nigerian government declared a national emergency.

It banned both local manufacturing and the importation of all codeine-based medications, such as cough syrup.

Because they can no longer easily get or consume codeine cough syrup in Nigeria, drug lords turn to South Africa.

South Africa’s regulations are more relaxed, allowing these syrups to be sold over the counter at pharmacies.

To bypass the limits at a single pharmacy, these syndicates target smaller, independent pharmacies which are not linked to a central database.

Runners can move from one independent shop to the next, called pharmacy hopping, and buy as many bottles as they want without triggering a red flag.

He said that when law enforcement raids the Nigerian syndicate locations, they uncover codeine medications in wholesale quantities.

Richard Chelin, an independent governance expert, said that large quantities of codeine are smuggled out of South Africa.

The medicine is exported across the SADC (Southern African Development Community) region. It also moves to Nigeria in many cases.

Organised crime syndicates use their money to target and corrupt border control officials, customs, and immigration officers at ports of entry.

These syndicates cannot operate without officials acting as enablers and protectors who look the other way as shipments move.

Cough syrup with codeine sample