Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted container consignments of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, and codeine-based cough syrup worth more than N5 billion at three major seaports in the country.
The seizures were made at the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos and the Onne Port in Rivers State following months of intelligence gathering and tracking of the shipments from their ports of origin.
According to a statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, operatives at Apapa Port subjected two containers shipped from Bangkok, Thailand, to a 100 per cent examination alongside Customs officials and other stakeholders.
The search of one of the containers led to the recovery of 161 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 124kg, with an estimated street value of N372 million. The cannabis was allegedly concealed inside two refrigerators and two cartons.
At the Tin Can Island Port, NDLEA operatives on September 29 searched a watch-listed container shipped from Montreal, Canada, in collaboration with Customs and other security agencies.
The operation resulted in the seizure of 2,595 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 1,297.5kg, concealed inside a Toyota Sienna and a Hyundai Elantra. The consignment was valued at more than N3.8 billion.
Meanwhile, at the Onne Port, two containers placed on the agency’s watch list were subjected to a joint examination.
NDLEA said officers recovered 40 packs of Loud weighing 22kg from one of the containers. The cannabis was allegedly hidden in a travelling bag and three vehicles shipped inside the container.
A second container was found to contain 109,600 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup weighing 16,440kg.
The agency said the container had travelled from India to Saudi Arabia, where its history of origin was allegedly deleted to prevent it from being targeted.
According to the NDLEA, the Loud and codeine consignments recovered at the Onne Port had a combined street value of N833.2 million.
The agency said the seizures were part of its ongoing intelligence-driven operations against drug trafficking networks across the country.