Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a consignment of Canadian Loud, a high-potency strain of cannabis, valued at about N10.4 billion at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos.
The agency disclosed that the seized consignment weighed 4,173.5 kilograms and had an estimated street value of N10,433,750,000.
According to the NDLEA, the illicit shipment originated from Toronto, Canada, on March 28, before being transported by rail to Montreal, where it was loaded onto a vessel, Jakarta Express Voyage. The cargo later arrived at Tanger Med Port in Morocco on April 15 and was subsequently transferred onto another vessel, Osaka Voyage, which berthed at the Lagos Port on May 9.
The anti-narcotics agency said the seizure followed more than two months of intelligence gathering and surveillance carried out by its Marine Intelligence Unit and the Tincan Island Strategic Command in collaboration with international partners, including the United Kingdom Home Office International Operations, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
NDLEA said the consignment was intercepted on Tuesday during a joint examination of the container involving its operatives, officials of the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies.
The agency further disclosed that the drugs were professionally concealed inside two vehicles — a used Ford bus and a Mercedes-Benz C300 car — stashed within the shipping container.
Speaking during the handover of the seized exhibits by the Customs Service at the Lagos Port on Wednesday, the NDLEA Director of Seaports Operations, Archie-Abia Ibinabo, said the operation underscored the importance of inter-agency cooperation and intelligence-driven enforcement in combating transnational drug trafficking.
“This achievement once again demonstrates the effectiveness of inter-agency cooperation, international collaboration, and intelligence-driven operations in combating transnational organized crime and illicit drug trafficking,” he said.
The latest interception comes barely four days after NDLEA operatives raided a mansion in Lekki allegedly used as a drug stash house, where 4,000 parcels of the same psychoactive substance weighing 2,326 kilograms and valued at over N5.8 billion were recovered.
Reacting to the latest seizure, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the Tincan Island Command and the Marine Intelligence Unit for their vigilance and professionalism.
Marwa said the repeated seizures pointed to a coordinated effort by international drug syndicates to flood the Nigerian market with synthetic cannabis strains.
“This second massive seizure in less than a week is a clear message to the international syndicates who think they can use our ports as entry points for their soul-destroying trade, that the synergy between NDLEA and Customs Service as well as other security agencies and our international partners is yielding fantastic results,” he said.
He added that the agency would continue to target every link in the drug supply chain and ensure those behind the shipments are brought to justice.
