The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has intercepted consignments of high-grade cannabis, known as Loud, and codeine-based cough syrup worth more than N5 billion at the Apapa, Tin Can Island and Onne seaports.
The seizures followed months of intelligence gathering and tracking of the shipments from their points of origin.
According to a statement by the Director, Medoa and Advocacy NDLEA Headquarters Femi Babafemi, at the Apapa Port in Lagos, NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence, subjected two containers from Bangkok, Thailand, to 100 per cent examination in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders.
A search of one of the containers on Saturday, September 3, uncovered 161 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 124 kilogrammes, concealed in two refrigerators and two cartons. The consignment has an estimated street value of N372 million.
At the Onne Port in Rivers State, two containers placed on the NDLEA watchlist following intelligence were subjected to a joint examination with Customs and other security agencies.
The exercise led to the discovery of 40 packs of Loud weighing 22 kilogrammes, concealed in a travelling bag and three of five vehicles shipped in one of the containers , a Toyota Matrix, Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Elantra.
The second container contained 109,600 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup weighing 16,440 kilogrammes.
According to the NDLEA, the container originated from India and was shipped to Saudi Arabia, where its history of origin was deleted in an attempt to prevent it from being targeted.
The combined street value of the Loud and codeine consignments intercepted at Onne is estimated at N833.2 million.
Meanwhile, at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, September 29, conducted a joint examination of a watch-listed container shipped from Montreal, Canada, alongside Customs and other stakeholders.
The operation resulted in the seizure of 2,595 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 1,297.5 kilogrammes.
The cannabis was concealed in a Toyota Sienna and Hyundai Elantra, alongside 24 blue drums and six jumbo bags inside the container.
The consignment is estimated to have a street value of more than N3.8 billion.
The latest seizures underscore the agency’s intelligence-led approach to intercepting illicit drug consignments at Nigeria’s seaports before they reach the streets.