Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have intercepted a massive consignment of Canadian Loud, a high-potency strain of cannabis, valued at over N10.4 billion at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos.
The illicit consignment, weighing 4,173.5 kilogrammes, was seized after what the agency described as months of intelligence gathering, surveillance and coordinated international tracking involving local and foreign security agencies.
According to the NDLEA, the shipment originated from Toronto, Canada, on March 28, 2026, before it was transported by rail to Montreal and loaded onto the vessel, Jakarta Express Voyage. The container reportedly arrived at Tanger Med Port in Morocco on April 15, where it was discharged and later reloaded onto another vessel, Osaka Voyage, which eventually berthed at the Lagos Port on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
The anti-narcotics agency said operatives of its Marine Intelligence Unit and the Tin Can Island Strategic Command monitored the shipment for over two months 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 operation culminated in the seizure of the drugs on Tuesday, May 12, during a joint examination involving NDLEA operatives, officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
The latest interception came barely four days after NDLEA operatives raided a mansion in Lekki allegedly being used as a drug stash house, where 4,000 parcels of the same psychoactive substance weighing 2,326 kilogrammes and valued at over N5.8 billion were recovered.
Investigations revealed that the illicit consignments were concealed inside two vehicles — a used Ford bus and a Mercedes-Benz C300 car, which were packed inside the shipping container.
Speaking during the handover of the seized exhibits by the Nigeria Customs Service at the Lagos Port on Wednesday, the NDLEA Director of Seaports Operations, ACG Ibinabo ArchieAbia, said the operation underscored the importance of inter-agency cooperation and intelligence-led enforcement.
The NDLEA official stated that the “achievement once again demonstrates the effectiveness of inter-agency cooperation, international collaboration, and intelligence-driven operations in combating transnational organized crime and illicit drug trafficking.”
Reacting to the seizure, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers of the Tin Can Command and the Marine Intelligence Unit for their professionalism and vigilance.
Marwa noted that the recent wave of Loud seizures pointed to attempts by international drug cartels to flood the Nigerian market with synthetic cannabis strains.
“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. We will not rest until every link in this supply chain is broken and those behind these shipments are brought to justice”, Marwa stated.
