The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered drug consignments worth more than N5 billion at three Nigerian seaports, with traffickers concealing cannabis and codeine-based syrup inside vehicles, refrigerators and other items.
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 by NDLEA operatives.
At Apapa, officers recovered 161 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 124kg and valued at N372 million from a container shipped from Bangkok.
The drugs were concealed in two refrigerators and two cartons, according to a statement by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
At Tin Can Island, operatives recovered 2,595 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 1,297.5kg and valued at more than N3.8 billion.
The consignment, shipped from Montreal, Canada, was hidden in a Toyota Sienna and a Hyundai Elantra, alongside 24 blue drums and six jumbo bags.
At Onne Port, NDLEA operatives recovered 40 packs of Loud weighing 22kg from a travelling bag and three vehicles in one container.
Another container contained 109,600 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup weighing 16,440kg. The Loud and codeine consignments were valued at N833.2 million.
The agency said the second container had travelled from India to Saudi Arabia before its origin history was deleted in an attempt to prevent it from being targeted.
In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested a 28-year-old businessman, Philip Tunde, with 4.80kg of cocaine allegedly concealed in shoes and the railings of travelling bags.
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.
According to the agency, 16 parcels of cocaine were hidden in the soles of eight pairs of trainers and canvas shoes, while another 195 wraps were concealed in the railings of four travelling bags.
During questioning, the suspect allegedly told investigators he paid N16 million in cash for the cocaine hidden in the shoes, while the consignment in the bags was intended for a partner in Italy.
The NDLEA said he claimed the money came from compensation he received after suffering an injury at a plastic manufacturing company in Italy.
The agency also reported the destruction of 20,234kg of skunk from 8.0936 hectares of cannabis farm in the Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State.
In Lagos, operatives recovered 209,000 tablets of tramadol from an unoccupied compound at Divine Estate, Ago Palace, while a follow-up operation led to the arrest of 23-year-old Ekundayo Taiwo.
Taiwo was allegedly linked to 61 grammes of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, and 24 grammes of methamphetamine concealed inside an energy drink bottle and sent as a waybill package.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig-Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the operatives for the seizures and urged them to sustain pressure on drug trafficking networks.
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