The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a massive consignment of Canadian Loud, a high-potency strain of cannabis, weighing 4,173.5 kilogrammes at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos, with an estimated street value of ₦10.43 billion.
The agency disclosed that the seizure followed months of intelligence gathering, surveillance, and tracking of the shipment across multiple international transit points before it eventually arrived in Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said the container departed Toronto, Canada, on March 28 and was moved by rail to Montreal before being loaded onto the vessel Jakarta Express.
According to the agency, the shipment later passed through Tanger Med Port in Morocco, where it was transferred to another vessel, Osaka voyage, before arriving at the Lagos port on May 9.
Babafemi stated that the operation was carried out by the NDLEA Marine Intelligence Unit and the Tincan Island Strategic Command in collaboration with international security partners, including the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the United Kingdom Home Office International Operations.
“The successful interdiction of the illicit drug consignment followed painstaking intelligence gathering, sustained surveillance, and trailing of the container, which was transloaded a number of times since it left Toronto, Canada,” the statement read.
The agency explained that the drugs were hidden inside two vehicles — a used Ford bus and a Mercedes-Benz C300 car — concealed within the shipping container.
NDLEA said the seizure was made during a joint examination of the container involving its operatives, officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies on Tuesday, May 12.
The latest interception comes barely four days after NDLEA operatives uncovered another major cache of Canadian Loud at a mansion in Lekki, reportedly being used as a stash house.
During that operation, 4,000 parcels of the psychoactive substance weighing 2,326 kilogrammes and valued at over ₦5.8 billion were recovered.
Speaking during the handover of the seized exhibits at the port on Wednesday, NDLEA Director of Seaports Operations, Ibinabo Archie-Abia, described the operation as evidence of the growing success of intelligence-led policing and inter-agency cooperation in tackling transnational organised crime.
Reacting to the seizure, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Marwa, commended officers involved in the operation and warned international drug syndicates against using Nigerian ports as entry routes for illicit substances.
“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,” Marwa said.
He added that the agency would continue intensifying efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks and bring those behind the shipments to justice.
