NDLEA intercepts N10.4bn worth of illicit drugs at Tincan Island Port

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a consignment of Canadian Loud, a high-potency strain of cannabis, weighing 4,173.5 kilograms and valued at N10.43 billion at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said the seizure followed extensive intelligence gathering, surveillance and tracking […]

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a consignment of Canadian Loud, a high-potency strain of cannabis, weighing 4,173.5 kilograms and valued at N10.43 billion at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said the seizure followed extensive intelligence gathering, surveillance and tracking of the shipment from Canada to Nigeria.

He explained that the container departed Toronto, Canada, on March 28, 2026, and was transported by rail to Montreal before it was loaded onto the vessel, Jakarta Express Voyage.

According to him, the shipment arrived at Tanger Med Port in Morocco on April 15, where it was discharged and reloaded onto another vessel, Osaka Voyage, which eventually arrived at the Lagos Port on Saturday, May 9, 2026.

Babafemi said operatives of the NDLEA Marine Intelligence Unit and the Tincan Island Strategic Command monitored the shipment for over two months in collaboration with international partners, including the United Kingdom Home Office International Operations, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

He added that the consignment was eventually seized on Tuesday, May 12, during a joint examination of the container involving NDLEA operatives, officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.

According to the statement, the illicit drugs were professionally concealed inside two vehicles — a used Ford bus and a Mercedes-Benz C300 car — hidden within the shipping container.

The seizure came barely four days after NDLEA operatives raided a mansion in Lekki, Lagos, allegedly 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.

Speaking during the handover of the exhibits by the Nigeria Customs Service at the Lagos Port on Wednesday, the NDLEA Director of Seaports Operations, ACG Ibinabo ArchieAbia, described the operation as further proof of effective inter-agency and international collaboration against transnational drug trafficking.

Reacting to the seizure, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers of the Tincan Command and the Marine Intelligence Unit for their vigilance and professionalism.

Marwa said the recent seizures of Canadian Loud indicated a coordinated attempt by international drug syndicates to flood the Nigerian market with synthetic strains of cannabis.

“This second massive seizure in less than a week is a clear message to international syndicates who think they can use our ports as entry points for their soul-destroying trade that the synergy between NDLEA, the Customs Service, other security agencies and our international partners is yielding fantastic results.

“We will not rest until every link in this supply chain is broken and those behind these shipments are brought to justice,” he stated.