Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have intercepted container consignments of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, and codeine-based cough syrup worth over N5 billion at the Apapa, Tin Can Island and Onne seaports.
The NDLEA said the seizures followed months of intelligence gathering and tracking of the shipments from their ports of origin.
The agency’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
According to him, NDLEA operatives at the Apapa Port in Lagos subjected two containers from Bangkok, Thailand, to 100 per cent examination in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders.
A search of one of the containers on September 3 led to the recovery of 161 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 124kg and valued at N372m.
Babafemi said the cannabis was concealed inside two refrigerators and two cartons.
At the Tin Can Island Port, NDLEA operatives on September 29 conducted a joint examination of a watch-listed container from Montreal, Canada.
The operation led to the seizure of 2,595 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 1,297.5kg and valued at over N3.8bn.
The consignment was concealed in a Toyota Sienna and a Hyundai Elantra, alongside 24 blue drums and six jumbo bags.
At the Onne Port in Rivers State, two containers watch-listed based on intelligence were also subjected to joint examination with Customs and other security agencies.
The agency recovered 40 packs of Loud weighing 22kg from one of the containers, where the drugs were concealed in a travelling bag and three of five vehicles shipped in the container.
The vehicles were identified as a Toyota Matrix, Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Elantra.
The second container contained 109,600 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup weighing 16,440kg.
The NDLEA said the container had left India for Saudi Arabia, where its history of origin was deleted to prevent it from being targeted.
The combined street value of the Loud and codeine consignments recovered at the Onne Port was put at N833.2m.
In a related development, the anti-narcotics agency arrested a 28-year-old Milan-bound businessman, Philip Tunde, with 4.80kg of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Tunde was arrested on September 27 at the joint screening point of Terminal 2 while preparing to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy.
The agency said 16 parcels of cocaine were concealed in the soles of eight pairs of trainers and canvas shoes, while 195 wraps of the substance were hidden in the railings of four travelling bags.
During interrogation, Tunde allegedly claimed that he paid N16m in cash for the cocaine concealed in the shoes, while the consignment in the bags was meant for delivery to his partner in Italy.
He reportedly said he raised the money from compensation paid to him following an injury sustained while working at a plastic manufacturing company in Italy, where he lost the tips of two fingers.
The NDLEA also disclosed that its operatives destroyed 20,234kg of skunk on 8.0936 hectares of cannabis farm in Area 4, Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State.
In Lagos, operatives raided an unoccupied compound at Divine Estate, Ago Palace, on September 28 and recovered 209,000 tablets of tramadol.
The agency said a follow-up operation at Ladipo Spare Parts Market on September 30 led to the arrest of 23-year-old Ekundayo Taiwo following the seizure of 61g of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, and 24g of methamphetamine concealed inside an energy drink bottle.
The drugs were reportedly sent as a waybill package through a commercial bus driver travelling along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Commending the operatives for the successful operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), called for sustained efforts against drug trafficking networks across the country.
