NDLEA intercepts ₦10.43bn hard drugs, busts cartel at Lagos Port

Crime Diary

LAGOS, Nigeria (NPA) — The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a staggering consignment of Canadian Loud cannabis worth ₦10.43 billion at the Tincan Island Port, Lagos, dealing another heavy blow to international drug syndicates.

The seizure — weighing 4,173.5 kilograms — followed two months of intelligence-driven surveillance, tracking the shipment from Toronto, Canada, through Montreal and Morocco’s Tanger Med Port, before it arrived in Lagos on May 9.

NDLEA operatives, working in synergy with the Nigeria Customs Service, the UK Home Office International Operations, the US DEA, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, uncovered the drugs concealed inside a Ford Bus and a Mercedes-Benz C300 hidden within the shipping container.

This breakthrough comes just days after NDLEA raided a Lekki mansion, recovering 2,326 kilograms of Loud valued at ₦5.8 billion, underscoring a coordinated attempt by cartels to flood Nigeria’s market.

NDLEA’s Director of Seaports Operations, ACG Ibinabo ArchieAbia, hailed the bust as proof of the power of inter-agency cooperation and global collaboration.

Reacting, NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.) praised the vigilance of officers, warning syndicates that Nigeria’s ports will not serve as gateways for their trade. “This second massive seizure in less than a week is a clear message to international syndicates. We will not rest until every link in this supply chain is broken and those behind these shipments are brought to justice,” Marwa declared.

The back-to-back seizures highlight NDLEA’s growing capacity to dismantle transnational drug networks, while sending a strong signal to cartels that Nigeria is no longer a haven for their illicit trade.