Lagos: The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a large consignment of Canadian Loud, a high-potency strain of cannabis, weighing 4,173.5 kilograms with a street value of N10.4 billion at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos. A statement by the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, on Wednesday in Abuja said that the successful interdiction of the illicit drug consignment followed painstaking intelligence gathering.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, this operation included sustained surveillance and the trailing of the container, which was transloaded multiple times since its departure from Toronto, Canada, on March 28. Babafemi explained that the shipment was initially moved by rail to Montreal, where it was loaded onto the vessel, Jakarta Express Voyage, arriving at Tanger Med Port in Morocco on April 15. From there, it was discharged and reloaded onto another vessel, the Osaka Voyage, which finally reached Lagos Port on Saturday.
The operation took over two months of diligent monitoring by the Marine Intelligence Unit of NDLEA, alongside the Tincan Island Strategic Command of the agency. Operatives collaborated closely with international partners, including the United Kingdom Home Office International Operations, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. These efforts culminated in the seizure of the consignment on Tuesday, May 12, during a joint examination of the container by NDLEA operatives, Customs Service personnel, and other security agencies.
This development comes on the heels of a recent raid by NDLEA operatives at a Lekki mansion used as a stash house, where 4,000 parcels of the same psychoactive substance, weighing 2,326 kilograms and valued at over N5.8 billion, were recovered. Babafemi noted that the illicit drug consignments from Canada were cleverly packed and concealed inside two vehicles – a used Ford Bus and a Mercedes Benz C300 car – within the shipping container.
During the handover of the exhibits by the NCS at the Lagos port, NDLEA Director of Seaports Operations, ACG Ibinabo Archieabis, highlighted that this achievement showcased the effectiveness of inter-agency cooperation, international collaboration, and intelligence-driven operations in combating transnational organized crime and illicit drug trafficking.
Reacting to the developments, NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, praised the vigilance and professionalism of the Tincan Command officers and the MIU of the agency. Marwa emphasized that the recent surge in Loud seizures indicates a coordinated attempt by international drug syndicates to inundate the Nigerian market with synthetic strains of cannabis. He asserted that this second massive seizure within a week sends a clear message to international syndicates attempting to exploit Nigerian ports for their harmful trade. The collaboration between NDLEA, Customs Service, other security agencies, and international partners like the Canadian Royal Mounted Police, UK-HOIO, and US DEA is proving to be significantly effective.