The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dealt a major blow to transnational drug trafficking networks with the seizure of 6,778.5 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a high-grade strain of cannabis, intercepted in two containers at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
The agency formally took custody of the illicit consignment on Wednesday, saying the operation was the outcome of months of intelligence gathering and international collaboration aimed at dismantling organised drug syndicates operating across continents.
Chairman and Chief Executive of the NDLEA, retired Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, said the seizure reflected the agency’s resolve to go beyond drug interceptions by identifying, arresting and prosecuting those behind the illicit trade while confiscating their criminal assets.
Represented at the handover ceremony by the Director of Seaport Operations, ACGN Ibinabo Archie-Abia, Marwa described the operation as a landmark success in inter-agency and international cooperation.
According to him, the two consignments were intercepted during joint examinations conducted by NDLEA operatives, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies after intelligence supplied by the agency’s Special Investigation Unit and Marine Intelligence Unit, working in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Marwa disclosed that the drug syndicates employed sophisticated maritime routes in an attempt to evade detection, shipping the containers through several countries before they eventually arrived in Nigeria.
He said one shipment originated from Toronto on April 16 before passing through Montreal and Morocco en route to Lagos, while the second departed Montreal on May 1 and followed a similarly complex route before both consignments were intercepted at Apapa Port.
“We are more determined than ever to dismantle organised criminal syndicates and drug trafficking networks operating within and beyond our borders,” Marwa said.
He stressed that the agency’s objective extends beyond confiscating illicit drugs to dismantling the financial infrastructure of criminal organisations through asset tracing, arrests and prosecution.
The NDLEA boss also commended the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies for their professionalism and intelligence-sharing, describing the operation as proof that coordinated enforcement remains one of the most effective weapons against transnational organised crime.
The seizure ranks among the largest consignments of imported cannabis intercepted at a Nigerian seaport in recent years, highlighting the increasing use of the country’s maritime gateways by international drug trafficking syndicates.