The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Wednesday took custody of 6,778.5 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, intercepted at the Apapa Port in Lagos following a joint operation involving the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other security agencies.
NDLEA’s chairman and chief executive officer, Buba Marwa, while speaking during the handover ceremony, said the seizures underscore the agency’s resolve to dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks.
Marwa, who was represented by Ibinabo Archie-Abia, director of seaport operations, said the drugs were recovered in two separate interceptions carried out on June 15 and June 24 after months of intelligence gathering.
He said the operation was coordinated by the NDLEA’s Special Investigation Unit and Marine Intelligence Unit in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the NCS.
He said the syndicates used complex international shipping routes in an attempt to evade detection, but NDLEA operatives tracked the consignments across multiple continents before intercepting them at the port.
Marwa said the first container, with identification number CAAU 7569127, departed Toronto on April 16 before moving by rail to Montreal, where it was loaded onto the vessel Ghallow Express.
He added that the shipment later passed through Tangier Med in Morocco and was trans-shipped onto Spartel Trader before arriving at Tin Can Island Port on May 27.
Marwa said it was subsequently transferred to Apapa Port, where it was intercepted during a joint examination on June 10.
He added that the second container, HAMU 3246311, left Montreal on May 1 aboard Africa Express, was later trans-shipped onto Algeciras Express, and arrived at Tin Can Island Port before being moved to Apapa Port on June 22, where NDLEA officers intercepted it.
Marwa said the agency would go beyond seizing illicit drugs by targeting the financial networks of traffickers.
“Our work does not end with seizure. We are committed to identifying, arresting and prosecuting those responsible, confiscating their criminal assets, and ensuring that they derive no benefit whatsoever from their illegal enterprise,” he said.
The NDLEA chairman also commended customs and other security agencies for what he described as effective intelligence sharing and operational collaboration.
He said the operation demonstrates the importance of inter-agency cooperation and international partnerships in combating transnational organised crime and illicit drug trafficking.
Marwa added that the agency remains committed to preventing dangerous drugs from entering Nigerian communities and dismantling the criminal syndicates behind their importation.
On June 28, the NDLEA said its operatives recovered Canadian loud, a strain of cannabis, from Toronto, worth N12,397,500,000 in street value.
