NDLEA Intercepts Multi-Billion Naira Drug Shipments at Lagos Ports, Arrests Key Suspects

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) may have killed the joy of drug addicts during the Yuletide as its operatives at the Tincan Seaport in Lagos, after months of intelligence-driven tracking of cargoes across three continents intercepted a multi-billion Naira worth of drug shipments.

The shipments of Methamphetamine and Loud, a strong synthetic strain of cannabis were suspected to be meant for distribution during the Christmas and New Year festive season.

The drugs were concealed in automobile spare parts imported from Canada.

A statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, said for the first time in the history of NDLEA’s anti-narcotic operations, two consignments of methamphetamine weighing 83.301 kilogrammes were on Thursday and Friday recovered from separate containers bearing vehicles and spare parts coming from Canada and heading to warehouses in the Ladipo automobile parts market in Mushin area of Lagos State.

He said while one of the containers going to Ladipo market through the Sifax bonded terminal was examined last Thursday, not less than 5.001 kilogrammes methamphetamine hidden in a bag wrapped in bed sheet that came in a Toyota Camry car, was recovered, even as a businessman, Isaac Onwumere linked with the consignment was promptly arrested.

Babafemi said the other container bearing automobile spare parts checked on Friday was found to contain 1, 735 parcels of Loud packed in 44 jumbo bags with a total weight of 867.5 kilogrammes and six plastic coolers containing 87 packs of methamphetamine weighing 78.3 kilogrammes, noting that at least, two businessmen: Nwanolue Emeka and Friday Ogbe have been arrested in connection with the seizure.

He disclosed the two meth consignments have a combined weight of 83.301 kilogrammes worth about N125 million while the 867.5 kilogrammes Loud is worth about N2.2 billion in street value.

He revealed the seizures were made during a joint examination of the shipments with Customs and other port stakeholders, and followed months of intelligence processing and tracking of the consignments from their ports of loading in Canada to the landing port in Lagos by combined Special Operations Units in NDLEA and the Tincan Port Strategic Command of the agency.

He said the first container with 5.001 kilogrammes meth came under the radar of NDLEA’s intelligence network on 4th October 2024 when preparation for the shipment began in Toronto, Canada, monitored through 8th October when the shipment was received at the rail ramp, loaded on the rail and departed to Montreal, Canada where it arrived and was unloaded the following day 9th October.

Further according to Babafemi, the consignment was further monitored till it was loaded on a vessel on 19th October through when the vessel arrived and discharged at Antwerp in Belgium on 30th October after which the consignment was trans-shipped and loaded on 14th November before arriving Lagos port on 1st December and released to a bonded terminal two days after.

Babafemi said the second shipment containing 867.5 kilogrammes of Loud and 78.3 kilogrammes of methamphetamine followed the same route.

It came under NDLEA’s intelligence tracking on 8th October 2024 when the consignments were delivered to the shipper in Toronto, Canada, loaded on the rail on 14th October and arrived Montreal the following day, 15th, after which they were loaded on a vessel to Europe on 20th October.

After arrival and trans-shipment at Antwerp in Belgium on 6th and 17th November respectively, the consignments were tracked till they arrived and discharged from the vessel at Lagos port on 6th December before being moved to the terminal on 10th December.

He said at the Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers State, no fewer than 636,600 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth about N4.5 billion in street value were intercepted in shipments from India last Monday and Friday.

He disclosed the seizures were made during joint examination of four containers by NDLEA officers, men of Customs and other security agencies at the port following processed credible intelligence on the shipments.

Babafemi said with the same vigour, commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), while commending the officers and men of the Special Operations Units, Tincan, and Onne Commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures, stated the operational successes should show the drug barons and cartels that the agency has the capacity and intelligence network to track their movements and their consignments even before getting to Nigeria.

He warned that they (drug barons and cartels) will continue to lose heavily if they fail to back down on the criminal trade.

Michael Olugbode 

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