Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have intercepted a 4,173.5kg consignment of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos.
The agency said the seized drugs have an estimated street value of N10.43 billion.
In a statement signed by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Wednesday, the agency said the seizure followed more than two months of intelligence gathering, surveillance and tracking of the container from Canada to Nigeria.
According to the statement, the shipment left Toronto, Canada, on March 28, 2026, and was moved by rail to Montreal, where it was loaded on a vessel, Jakarta Express voyage. It arrived at Tanger Med Port in Morocco on April 15 before it was discharged and reloaded onto another vessel, Osaka voyage, which arrived at Lagos Port on Saturday, May 9.
NDLEA said the operation was carried out by its Marine Intelligence Unit and Tincan Island Strategic Command, in collaboration with international partners, including the United Kingdom Home Office International Operations, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The consignment was eventually seized on Tuesday, May 12, during a joint examination of the container by NDLEA operatives, officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
The agency said the drugs were concealed inside two vehicles — a used Ford bus and a Mercedes Benz C300 — packed inside the shipping container.
Speaking during the handover of the exhibits by Customs at the port on Wednesday, NDLEA’s Director of Seaports Operations, ACG Ibinabo Archie-Abia, said the seizure underscored the importance of inter-agency cooperation and international collaboration in tackling transnational drug trafficking.
The latest seizure came barely four days after NDLEA operatives raided a mansion in Lekki, Lagos, allegedly used as a stash house, where 4,000 parcels of the same substance weighing 2,326kg and valued at over N5.8 billion were recovered.
Reacting to the interception, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the Tincan Command and the Marine Intelligence Unit for their vigilance and professionalism.
Marwa said the recent seizures showed what he described as a coordinated attempt by international drug syndicates to flood the Nigerian market with synthetic strains of cannabis.
“This second massive seizure in less than a week is a clear message to the international syndicates who think they can use our ports as entry points for their soul-destroying trade, that the synergy between NDLEA and Customs Service as well as other security agencies and our international partners like the Canadian Royal Mounted Police, the UK-HOIO and the US DEA is yielding fantastic results,” Marwa said.
“We will not rest until every link in this supply chain is broken and those behind these shipments are brought to justice,” he added.
