NDLEA intercepts 6.8kg cannabis shipment from Canada

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has taken custody of 6,778.5 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, intercepted at the Apapa Port in Lagos.

The seizure followed a joint operation involving the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, the NDLEA and other security agencies.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), said the operation showed the agency’s determination to break international drug trafficking networks.

Marwa spoke on Wednesday during the handover of the seized consignments. He was represented by the Director of Seaport Operations, Ibinabo Archie-Abia.

According to him, the drugs were recovered in two separate interceptions carried out on June 15 and June 24 after months of intelligence gathering.

He said the operation was coordinated by the NDLEA’s Special Investigation Unit and Marine Intelligence Unit, in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, RCMP, and the NCS.

Marwa said the traffickers used complex international shipping routes in an attempt to beat security checks.

He, however, said NDLEA operatives tracked the consignments across several countries before they were intercepted at the port.

The first container, marked CAAU 7569127, reportedly left Toronto on April 16 and moved by rail to Montreal, where it was loaded onto the vessel Ghallow Express.

The shipment later passed through Tangier Med in Morocco and was trans-shipped onto Spartel Trader before arriving at Tin Can Island Port on May 27.

It was later transferred to Apapa Port, where it was intercepted during a joint examination on June 10.

Marwa said the second container, marked HAMU 3246311, left Montreal on May 1 aboard Africa Express.

It was later trans-shipped onto Algeciras Express and arrived at Tin Can Island Port before being moved to Apapa Port on June 22, where NDLEA officers intercepted it.

The NDLEA boss said the agency would not stop at seizing illicit drugs, but would also go after the people and financial networks behind the consignments.

“Our work does not end with seizure. We are committed to identifying, arresting and prosecuting those responsible, confiscating their criminal assets, and ensuring that they derive no benefit whatsoever from their illegal enterprise,” he said.

Marwa commended Customs and other security agencies for effective intelligence sharing and operational collaboration.

He said the operation showed the importance of inter-agency cooperation and international partnerships in tackling transnational organised crime and illicit drug trafficking.

He added that the NDLEA remained committed to preventing dangerous drugs from entering Nigerian communities and dismantling the syndicates behind their importation.

The agency had earlier said the seized Canadian Loud from Toronto had an estimated street value of N12.39 billion.