Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a 40-foot container loaded with 4,959 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis with an estimated street value of N12.397 billion, at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
The seizure followed more than four weeks of intelligence-led surveillance and was made on Wednesday, June 23, during a joint examination conducted by officers of the NDLEA Apapa Strategic Command, the Nigeria Customs Service, other security agencies and port stakeholders.
According to the agency, the container, which also carried a Ford and a Nissan vehicle, had been under surveillance since April 25, when it departed Toronto, Canada.
Investigations revealed that the shipment was transported by truck to Montreal, moved by rail before passing through Tanger Med Port in Morocco, where it was loaded onto another vessel on May 23. It arrived at Tin Can Port, Lagos, on June 4, was discharged the following day and later transferred to Apapa Port, where NDLEA operatives intercepted it.
In a separate operation, NDLEA officers arrested a 38-year-old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, while she was attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing, China, with 7.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the false bottom of her suitcase.
The suspect, who claimed she regularly travelled to China to purchase goods for sale in Nigeria, was apprehended at the departure hall of Terminal 2 following credible intelligence. A thorough search of her luggage uncovered four parcels of cocaine professionally hidden inside a false compartment.
The anti-narcotics agency also uncovered a syndicate allegedly involved in planting illicit drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers at motor parks.
The investigation began after NDLEA operatives in Abuja, working with colleagues in Anambra State, intercepted a Sienna bus travelling from Nnewi at Abaji in the Federal Capital Territory on June 20.
A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of a waybill package containing 467.7 grams of methamphetamine, concealed inside a black nylon bag placed in a sack of clothes bearing the receiver’s phone number.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the intended recipient, Mrs. Gloria Peter, at Utako Motor Park. During interrogation, she denied ownership of, or knowledge about, the illicit package.
The NDLEA said investigations are ongoing to identify and apprehend other members of the drug trafficking network, while reiterating its commitment to dismantling criminal syndicates involved in the trafficking and distribution of illicit substances across the country.
