Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency intercepted 4,173.5kg of Canadian Loud, a high-potency cannabis strain, with an estimated street value of N10.4 billion at Tincan Island Port on Tuesday, the agency said.
The seizure followed more than two months of intelligence gathering and surveillance by NDLEA’s Marine Intelligence Unit and the Tincan Island Strategic Command. Officials said the container left Toronto on 28 March, moved by rail to Montreal, then by vessel via Morocco before arriving Lagos on 9 May. A joint examination with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies led to the seizure on 12 May.
The drugs were concealed inside a used Ford bus and a Mercedes Benz C300 packed within the container. NDLEA said the operation was carried out in close collaboration with the UK Home Office International Operations, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The bust comes four days after the agency recovered 2,326kg of the same substance worth N5.8 billion from a Lekki mansion.
Speaking during the handover of the exhibits, NDLEA Director of Seaports Operations ACG Ibinabo ArchieAbia said the operation showed the effectiveness of inter-agency cooperation and intelligence-driven work against transnational drug trafficking. NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the officers and said the volume of recent seizures pointed to a coordinated attempt by international syndicates to flood the Nigerian market.
“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,” Marwa said. “We will not rest until every link in this supply chain is broken and those behind these shipments are brought to justice.”
