Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a massive consignment of Canadian Loud, a high-potency strain of cannabis, valued at over N10.4 billion at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos, in what authorities described as another major breakthrough against international drug trafficking syndicates targeting Nigeria.
The agency disclosed that the illicit shipment, weighing 4,173.5 kilograms, was uncovered following months of intelligence gathering, surveillance, and coordinated international operations involving the United Kingdom Home Office International Operations, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
According to the NDLEA, the shipment originated from Toronto, Canada, on March 28 before being transported by rail to Montreal, where it was loaded onto the Jakarta Express vessel. The container later arrived at Tanger Med Port in Morocco on April 15, where it was discharged and reloaded onto another vessel, Osaka Voyage, which eventually berthed at the Lagos Port on May 9.
The anti-narcotics agency said operatives from its Marine Intelligence Unit and Tincan Island Strategic Command closely monitored the movement of the container for over two months before eventually intercepting it during a joint inspection involving NDLEA officers, officials of the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies on Tuesday, May 12.
Investigators discovered that the cannabis consignments had been professionally concealed inside two imported vehicles — a used Ford bus and a Mercedes-Benz C300 car — hidden within the shipping container in an apparent attempt to evade detection by security agencies.
The latest seizure comes barely four days after NDLEA operatives raided a mansion in Lekki, Lagos, allegedly being used as a drug stash house, where 4,000 parcels of the same psychoactive substance weighing 2,326 kilograms and valued at more than N5.8 billion were recovered.
Speaking during the formal handover of the seized exhibits in Lagos on Wednesday, the NDLEA Director of Seaports Operations, ACG Ibinabo Archie-Abia, said the operation underscored the importance of collaboration among security agencies and international partners in combating transnational organised crime.
“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,” Archie-Abia stated.
Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operation, noting that the recent surge in seizures indicated a coordinated attempt by international drug cartels to flood the Nigerian market with synthetic cannabis products.
“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 like the Canadian Royal Mounted Police, the UK-HOIO and the US DEA is yielding fantastic results,” Marwa said.
He added, “We will not rest until every link in this supply chain is broken and those behind these shipments are brought to justice.”
The NDLEA said investigations are ongoing to identify and apprehend members of the drug trafficking network linked to the intercepted consignments.
