ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a massive consignment of Canadian Loud, a high-potency strain of cannabis, valued at over N10.4 billion at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos, in what officials describe as one of the most coordinated drug seizures in recent months.
The shipment, weighing 4,173.5 kilograms, was reportedly tracked through multiple international transit points over a sustained intelligence-led operation that spanned several weeks.
According to the agency, the consignment originated from Toronto, Canada on March 28 and was moved through a complex logistics chain involving rail transportation to Montreal before being loaded onto a vessel identified as Jakarta Express Voyage.
The vessel arrived at Tanger Med Port in Morocco on April 15, where the shipment was offloaded and reloaded onto another vessel, Osaka Voyage, which eventually arrived in Lagos on May 9, 2026.
NDLEA said the operation was the result of “painstaking intelligence gathering, sustained surveillance, and continuous tracking” by its Marine Intelligence Unit and the Tincan Island Strategic Command, working in collaboration with international partners.
These partners include the United Kingdom Home Office International Operations, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), whose combined intelligence support contributed to the final interception during a joint examination of the container on May 12.
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The agency further disclosed that the interception comes just days after another major raid in Lagos, where a Lekki-based stash house was discovered with 4,000 parcels of the same strain of cannabis weighing over 2,300 kilograms, further raising concerns about a sustained influx of high-grade cannabis into the country.
According to NDLEA officials, the drugs were cleverly concealed inside vehicles including a used Ford bus and a Mercedes-Benz C300 before being sealed within the container, a method they described as part of increasingly sophisticated concealment strategies used by international trafficking networks.
Speaking at the handover of exhibits by the Nigeria Customs Service, the NDLEA Director of Seaports Operations, ACG Ibinabo ArchieAbia, said the seizure underscores the effectiveness of intelligence-sharing and inter-agency coordination in combating transnational drug trafficking.
He said the operation reflects a growing trend of coordinated attempts by international syndicates to use Nigerian ports as entry points for illicit substances, particularly synthetic cannabis strains.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended operatives involved in the operation, describing the seizure as a clear indication of heightened surveillance capacity and operational readiness across the agency’s maritime commands.
Marwa warned that recent seizures suggest an organised attempt by drug cartels to flood the Nigerian market through maritime routes, adding that the agency would continue to intensify enforcement and disrupt all identified trafficking networks.
He reiterated that collaboration with international partners remains central to ongoing efforts to dismantle cross-border drug syndicates and prevent Nigeria from becoming a major distribution hub for illicit narcotics.