By John Lewis
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a massive consignment of Canadian Loud valued at over ₦10.4 billion at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos, in one of the agency’s biggest anti-narcotics operations of 2026.
The seizure, which involved 4,173.5 kilograms of the illicit substance, followed weeks of coordinated intelligence gathering and international surveillance involving security agencies across Nigeria, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.
The NDLEA stated that the shipment originated from Toronto, Canada, on March 28, 2026, and was moved by rail to Montreal before being loaded onto a vessel bound for Morocco.
In a statement, the Agency Spokesperson,Femi Babafemi said, the consignment was later transloaded onto another ship in Tanger Med Port before arriving at Lagos Port on May 9, 2026, aboard a separate vessel.
He said the container was closely monitored for over two months by its Marine Intelligence Unit and the Tincan Island Strategic Command in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and foreign partners including the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the United Kingdom Home Office International Operations, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
According to him,the operation culminated in a joint inspection on May 12, 2026, leading to the discovery of the drugs concealed inside two used vehicles — a Ford bus and a Mercedes-Benz C300 — packed within the container.
The development comes just days after NDLEA operatives raided a luxury mansion in Lekki, Lagos, where 4,000 parcels of the same substance weighing 2,326 kilograms and valued at over ₦5.8 billion were recovered.
Officials described the back-to-back seizures as evidence of an intensified attempt by international drug cartels to flood Nigeria with synthetic cannabis through its seaports and urban distribution networks.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the operatives involved in the operation, describing the seizure as proof of growing synergy among local and international security agencies.
He stressed that the agency would sustain its crackdown on drug trafficking networks until all supply chains are dismantled and perpetrators brought to justice.
The NDLEA Director of Seaports Operations, ACG Ibinabo Archie-Abia, said the operation underscores the effectiveness of intelligence-led policing and inter-agency cooperation in tackling transnational organized crime.
He noted that the concealment method used in the shipment highlights the evolving sophistication of drug trafficking networks targeting Nigeria as a transit and consumption hub.
The agency emphasized that the success of the operation reflects deepening international cooperation in the fight against narcotics, particularly between Nigerian security agencies and global partners.
It added that said investigations are ongoing to identify the Nigerian and foreign collaborators behind the shipment and to dismantle the wider trafficking network linked to the consignment.
