Gendarmes from the Léconi brigade have arrested a 30-year-old man after discovering several blister packs of 200 mg tramadol carefully concealed inside cassava sticks, the AGP learned from judicial sources.
The arrest took place on Monday in Léconi, the administrative centre of the Plateaux department in the Haut-Ogooué province. Champolvie Ngame, a Gabonese national and unmarried, was transporting three cassava sticks in which the powerful painkiller, which is strictly regulated in Gabon, had been hidden.
According to initial findings, the suspect was preparing to travel to Franceville to sell the substance on the black market, working with resale networks active in some outlying neighbourhoods.
Believing he could evade law-enforcement checks through this concealment method, he was ultimately caught during a routine inspection.
A thorough search uncovered the tramadol blister packs, a psychotropic substance whose trafficking continues to gain ground across the country, fuelled by rising demand, particularly among young people.
Unsupervised use of the drug remains a serious concern for health authorities.
Placed in custody, the suspect was questioned at the brigade before being brought before an investigating magistrate at the Franceville High Court.
Given the seriousness of the offences, a detention warrant is being considered pending the opening of judicial proceedings for the possession and illegal transport of controlled pharmaceutical substances.
This case once again highlights the determination of defence and security forces to curb the circulation of tramadol, a scourge that continues to destabilise many Gabonese families.
In response to the growing trafficking, the authorities are intensifying control operations and dismantling networks involved in the distribution of this psychotropic drug.
DM/te/lb/gik/APA