The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has officially taken custody of 6,778.5 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a high-grade strain of cannabis, intercepted at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
The illicit shipment was handed over to the anti-narcotics agency during a ceremony held at the port on Wednesday after it was intercepted through a joint examination involving operatives of the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement that the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), represented by the Director of Seaport Operations, ACGN Ibinabo Archie-Abia, described the seizure as a significant breakthrough achieved through effective collaboration among security agencies.
Marwa said the agency’s two major interceptions recorded on June 15 and June 24, 2026, underscored its renewed commitment to dismantling organised drug trafficking syndicates operating within and outside Nigeria.
According to him, the operations were driven by months of intelligence gathering coordinated by the NDLEA’s Special Investigation Unit and Marine Intelligence Unit in partnership with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Nigeria Customs Service.
He explained that the drug trafficking syndicates adopted complex international shipping routes in an attempt to beat security checks, but sustained surveillance by law enforcement agencies enabled operatives to monitor the consignments across several countries before they eventually arrived in Nigeria.
Marwa revealed that the first container, marked CAAU 7569127, departed Toronto on April 16, 2026, and was transported by rail to Montreal before being loaded onto the vessel Ghallow Express.
The shipment later passed through Tangier Med in Morocco, where it was transferred to another vessel, Spartel Trader, before arriving at Tin Can Island Port on May 27.
He said the container was subsequently moved to the Global Bonded Terminal and later transferred by water to Apapa Port on June 10, where it was intercepted during a joint examination by the NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies.
The NDLEA chairman added that the second container, identified as HAMU 3246311, left Montreal on May 1 aboard the Africa Express and was later trans-shipped onto the Algeciras Express on May 15.
He said the shipment arrived at Tin Can Island Port before it was moved to Apapa Port on June 22, where NDLEA operatives intercepted it.
Marwa stressed that the agency’s efforts would not stop at seizing illicit drugs, noting that it would intensify efforts to identify, arrest and prosecute those behind the trafficking operations while also tracing and confiscating assets acquired through the illegal trade.
He noted that the enormous profits generated from illicit drug trafficking continued to finance organised crime despite its devastating effects on individuals, families and communities.
The NDLEA boss also commended officers of the agency, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security organisations for their professionalism, dedication and patriotism.
He said the successful operation highlighted the importance of intelligence sharing, inter-agency cooperation and international collaboration in combating transnational organised crime and drug.