The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded major breakthroughs in its ongoing crackdown on drug trafficking, intercepting illicit drugs worth billions of naira and arresting several suspects in coordinated operations across the country.
One of the agency’s biggest seizures involved a 40-foot container carrying 4,959 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a highly potent strain of cannabis with an estimated street value of N12.397 billion. The container was intercepted at Apapa Port in Lagos after weeks of intelligence-led surveillance carried out in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
According to the NDLEA, the shipment originated in Toronto, Canada, before passing through Montreal and Morocco en route to Nigeria. The container, which also contained two vehicles, was tracked until it was intercepted at the port.
In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, operatives arrested a 38-year-old businesswoman who was preparing to board a flight to Beijing, China, with 7.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a specially constructed compartment inside her suitcase. The suspect was apprehended after intelligence reports prompted a thorough search of her luggage.
The agency also dismantled a suspected drug trafficking network accused of secretly planting narcotics in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers travelling by commercial buses. The investigation began after officers intercepted a bus travelling from Anambra State to Abuja and discovered a package containing 467.7 grams of methamphetamine hidden inside a passenger’s luggage.
Further investigations led to the arrest of several individuals allegedly linked to the operation, including the suspected owner of the illicit consignment and transport workers believed to have facilitated the concealment of the drugs.
In another operation, NDLEA officers arrested a 57-year-old suspect in Lagos with 209.5 kilograms of Scottish Loud concealed in a shipment destined for Enugu State.
Three additional suspects, including two foreign nationals, were also arrested after operatives intercepted a truck transporting 558,900 pills of Tramadol concealed inside a specially fabricated compartment. The drugs were allegedly being smuggled into Nigeria through neighbouring West African countries.
The agency also arrested two suspects transporting 118 kilograms of skunk concealed among legitimate goods on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, while another raid in Lagos led to the recovery of 28.8 kilograms of skunk and the arrest of two women suspected of operating a local drug distribution network.
Beyond enforcement activities, the NDLEA continued its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign by conducting sensitisation programmes in schools and communities across several states to educate young people and the public on the dangers of drug abuse.
The agency’s leadership commended officers involved in the successful operations and encouraged them to sustain efforts aimed at reducing drug trafficking while expanding public awareness campaigns across the country.
