NDLEA Exposes Deadly “225” Pills Containing 800mg Tramadol
By: Editor | TruthMedia.sl
Freetown, October 8, 2025
A shocking discovery by Sierra Leone’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has revealed that tramadol pills commonly sold and labeled as “225mg” actually contain an alarming 800 milligrams of the potent opioid more than three times the declared dosage.
This revelation, confirmed through forensic laboratory testing, exposes the dangerous scale of drug adulteration and misuse sweeping across the country. It also highlights a growing public health crisis fueled by the easy availability of counterfeit and unregulated pharmaceuticals on the streets.
Speaking during a media engagement at Truth Media’s Hill Cut office in Freetown, Ibrahim Samuel Dugba, Director of Drug Prevention, Education, and Training at the NDLEA, described the findings as “deeply disturbing” and “a wake-up call for national action.”
When we checked the 225 milligrams tramadol, we found out that the actual forensic content is over 800 milligrams,” Dugba disclosed. “That’s a 575mg discrepancy a 255.56% increase from what users think they are taking.”
According to Dugba, such extreme mislabeling poses severe risks to consumers who believe they are ingesting a moderate pain-relief dose. Instead, they are unknowingly consuming dangerously high amounts capable of triggering respiratory failure, coma, or death.
He noted that the NDLEA recently intercepted another batch of tramadol tablets labeled as 225mg but containing 500mg of the active substance still far above the medically recommended levels of 225mg to 250mg used in clinical pain management.
This is not just a health issue; it’s a national emergency,” Dugba emphasized. “Young people are the most vulnerable. Many take these pills for energy or pleasure, without realizing they are slowly destroying their bodies and futures.”
A Growing National Crisis
