NDLEA seizes cannabis shipment worth N10.4bn at Lagos port after tracking container from Canada for months

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted a massive consignment of Canadian Loud, a high-potency strain of cannabis, weighing 4,173.5 kilograms and valued at an estimated N10.43bn at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos.

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The agency disclosed that the seizure followed months of intelligence gathering, surveillance and coordinated international tracking of the shipment, which originated from Toronto, Canada, on March 28, 2026.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the container was first transported by rail to Montreal before it was shipped aboard the vessel Jakarta Express Voyage.

Babafemi explained that the vessel arrived at Tanger Med Port in Morocco on April 15 before the container was transferred to another vessel, Osaka Voyage, which later docked in Lagos on May 9.

The NDLEA said its Marine Intelligence Unit and the Tincan Island Strategic Command 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.

NDLEA seizes cannabis shipment after what officials described as painstaking intelligence work and sustained surveillance across multiple international transit points.

“The successful interdiction of the illicit drug consignment followed painstaking intelligence gathering, sustained surveillance, and trailing of the container from its point of departure in Toronto,” the statement said.

The drugs were eventually uncovered during a joint examination carried out on Tuesday, May 12, by NDLEA operatives, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies operating at the port.

Babafemi disclosed that the narcotics were concealed inside a used Ford bus and a Mercedes-Benz C300 car packed within the shipping container.

Speaking during the handover of the seized exhibits on Wednesday, the NDLEA Director of Seaports Operations, Ibinabo Archie-Abia, said the operation underscored the growing effectiveness of collaboration between local and international security agencies in tackling transnational drug trafficking networks.

The latest seizure comes only days after NDLEA operatives raided a mansion in Lekki, Lagos, allegedly used as a drug stash house, where 2,326 kilograms of the same cannabis strain valued at more than N5.8bn were recovered.

Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operation for their professionalism and vigilance.

Marwa warned that the repeated interceptions pointed to an aggressive attempt by international drug syndicates to flood Nigeria 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 illicit trade,” Marwa said.

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He added that the agency would intensify efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks linked to the shipments and ensure all those responsible are prosecuted.