The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a consignment of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 4,173.5 kilograms and valued at over ₦10.4 billion at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos.
Director of Media and Advocacy of the Agency, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday Babafemi said the seizure followed months of intelligence gathering, surveillance and tracking of the container from Canada to Nigeria.
He stated that the shipment departed Toronto, Canada, on March 28 before it was transported by rail to Montreal, where it was loaded onto a vessel identified as Jakarta Express Voyage.
According to him, the consignment later arrived at Tanger Med Port in Morocco on April 15, where it was discharged and reloaded onto another vessel, Osaka Voyage, which eventually berthed at the Lagos Port on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
Babafemi noted that operatives of the Marine Intelligence Unit and the Tincan Island Strategic Command of the NDLEA monitored the shipment for more than 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.
He added that the operation culminated in the seizure of the drugs on Tuesday, May 12, during a joint examination of the container involving NDLEA operatives, officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
Babafemi explained that the illicit drugs were professionally concealed inside two imported vehicles, a used Ford bus and a Mercedes-Benz C300 car, hidden within the shipping container.
He pointed out that the latest seizure came barely four days after NDLEA operatives raided a mansion in Lekki, Lagos, used as a drug stash house where 4,000 parcels of the same psychoactive substance weighing 2,326 kilograms and valued at over ₦5.8 billion were recovered.
Speaking during the handover of the seized exhibits at the port in Lagos, the NDLEA Director of Seaports Operations, ACG Ibinabo ArchieAbia, said the operation further demonstrated the effectiveness of inter-agency collaboration and intelligence-driven enforcement against organised drug trafficking networks.
Reacting to the development, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers of the Tincan Command and the Marine Intelligence Unit for their vigilance and professionalism.
Babafemi quoted Marwa as saying that the recent wave of Canadian Loud seizures indicated a coordinated attempt by international drug syndicates to flood the Nigerian market with synthetic cannabis products.
“This second massive seizure in less than a week is a clear message to international syndicates who think they can use our ports as entry points for their destructive trade,” Marwa stated.
He added that the synergy between NDLEA, the Customs Service and international security agencies was already yielding significant results in the fight against illicit drug trafficking.
“We will not rest until every link in this supply chain is broken and those behind these shipments are brought to justice,” Marwa said.
