A major counter-narcotics operation has led to the interception of multi-billion-naira drug shipments across key maritime hubs in Nigeria. Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) confiscated massive quantities of high-grade cannabis strains and codeine syrup valued at more than ₦5 billion during targeted port raids, while also taking a Milan-bound businessman into custody.
The agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, confirmed in a Sunday statement that the successful seizures at Apapa, Tin Can Island, and Onne seaports were the culmination of months-long surveillance and intelligence tracking the illicit cargo from its foreign points of departure.
A detailed inspection of suspicious containers at the Apapa port in Lagos uncovered 161 packages of Thai Loud—weighing 124 kilograms and estimated at ₦372 million—hidden inside two refrigerators and cardboard boxes.
Meanwhile, a search at the nearby Tin Can Island port yielded a far larger cache of Canadian Loud, totaling 2,595 packages with a combined weight of nearly 1,298 kilograms. Farther south, at Onne Port in Rivers State, officers intercepted another batch of 40 Loud parcels alongside 109,600 bottles of codeine cough syrup. Together, the contraband from Onne carries a market value of roughly ₦833.2 million.
