The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted 1,490.5kg of suspected synthetic cannabis, popularly known as Thai Loud, with an estimated street value of more than N4.4bn at the Apapa and Lekki Deep Sea ports in Lagos.
The agency said the seizures represented the first known interception of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through Nigeria’s maritime corridor, raising concerns over the emergence of a new trafficking route into the country.
The NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the two consignments were traced to the Port of Laem Chabang in Thailand and intercepted during separate joint examinations at the Lagos ports.
At the Apapa Port, NDLEA operatives, working with officials of the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies, examined a container on Friday, August 21.
The container had been declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries.
However, the examination allegedly uncovered 54 cartons containing 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud.
According to the NDLEA, the consignment consisted of 2,181 sachets, each weighing 500 grammes.
A second interception was made at the Lekki Deep Sea Port after the container was placed on the NDLEA watchlist following intelligence gathered by its Marine Special Operations Unit.
The container was examined on Wednesday, August 19, leading to the discovery of seven pallets concealed under black nylon.
The agency said four of the pallets contained 96 cartons of Thai Loud, comprising 400 parcels with a combined weight of 400kg.
The remaining three pallets contained 798 rims of A4 paper, which investigators said were used as cover for the drug consignment.
The NDLEA said the combined street value of the drugs recovered from the two containers exceeded N4.4bn.
The agency described the development as significant because both consignments originated from Laem Chabang Port in Thailand, suggesting that drug traffickers may be exploiting a new maritime route to move illicit substances into Nigeria.
More interceptions
The Lagos seizures formed part of a wider series of operations conducted by NDLEA commands across the country, resulting in the arrest of several suspects and the recovery of different quantities of illicit drugs.
In Akwa Ibom State, NDLEA operatives on Friday intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas allegedly transporting narcotics to fishing settlements in Cameroon.
Three suspects were arrested aboard the vessel, while 42.622kg of suspected narcotics, including skunk and cocaine, were recovered.
The agency said one of the suspects, 27-year-old Kingsley Effiong John, allegedly concealed 20 grammes of cocaine inside a large wrap of cassava fufu, alongside 435 grammes of skunk.
In Ondo State, operatives destroyed 10,000kg of skunk cultivated on four hectares of cannabis farm in Ijare Forest, Ifedore Local Government Area.
Another 210kg of skunk was recovered at Ita-Ogbolu in Akure North Local Government Area.
In Kwara State, 1.325kg of methamphetamine and quantities of cannabis were recovered from a Toyota Starlet intercepted along the Ogbomosho-Ilorin Expressway.
A 22-year-old suspect, Muhammadu Usman, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested 65-year-old Adebayo Kaosarat with several suspected illicit substances, including 1.795kg of Scottish Loud, 1.66kg of tramadol, 600 grammes of codeine syrup, 125 grammes of diazepam and 50 grammes of flunitrazepam.
Similarly, 73.3kg of skunk packed in 98 blocks was recovered from a 31-year-old suspect, Chibuzor Madueke, during a raid on Hadeija Road in Kano State.
In Abia State, operatives recovered 14.4kg of Loud, 2.3kg of Colorado, 386 grammes of tramadol and 134 grammes of Rohypnol from the residence of a 36-year-old man, Ikechukwu Anthony Iwuno, in Umuahia South Local Government Area.
Three members of a family were also arrested near the Seme border in Lagos, where 48kg of skunk was recovered.
In the Federal Capital Territory, the agency intercepted 24,410 tramadol capsules concealed in three waybill packages inside a Hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the consignment, 28-year-old Sunday Eze, in Kontagora, Niger State.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers involved in the operations and directed them to sustain the agency’s intensified drug interdiction efforts.
Marwa also directed that a 101-year-old woman arrested in Ogun State for allegedly selling cannabis be granted bail and placed on counselling because of her advanced age. Her daughter was also arrested over the alleged drug activities.
The latest seizures are expected to intensify scrutiny of Nigeria’s seaports and maritime cargo routes as anti-narcotics authorities move to prevent international drug syndicates from establishing new channels for bringing illicit substances into the country.
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