The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Sunday said it had smashed a drug smuggling syndicate and intercepted N3.3 billion worth of shipments of Methamphetamine and Loud, a strong synthetic strain of cannabis at the Tincan Island Port in Apapa, Lagos.
The landmark seizures were made after months of intelligence-driven tracking of the cargoes across three continents.
In a statement on Sunday, the drug agency said the illicit drug imports meant for distribution during the Christmas and New Year festive season, were concealed in automobile spare parts imported from Canada.
NDLEA said the two consignments of methamphetamine weighing 83.301 kilograms were on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th December 2024, recovered from separate containers bearing vehicles and spare parts coming from Canada and heading to warehouses in the Ladipo automobile parts market in Mushin area of Lagos.
The methamphetamine and Loud imports concealed in used automobile parts shipments at Tincan Island Port, Lagos.
One of the containers going to Ladipo market through the Sifax bonded terminal was examined on Thursday 12th December and found to contain 5.001kg methamphetamine hidden in a bag wrapped in bed sheet that came in a Toyota Camry sedan. The agency said it had promptly arrested a businessman, Isaac Onwumere who was linked with the consignment.
The other container bearing automobile spare parts checked on Friday 13th December was found to contain 1,735 parcels of Loud packed in 44 jumbo bags with a total weight of 867.5kg and six plastic coolers containing 87 packs of methamphetamine weighing 78.3kg. In connection with the shipment, NDLEA said two businessmen, Nwanolue Emeka and Friday Ogbe had been arrested.
The two meth consignments have a combined weight of 83.301kg worth N124.95 million, while the 867.5kg Loud is worth N2.17 billion.
“The seizures were made during a joint examination of the shipments with Customs and other port stakeholders. This followed months of intelligence processing and tracking of the consignments from their ports of loading in Canada to the landing port in Lagos by combined Special Operations Units in NDLEA and the Tincan Port Strategic Command of the Agency,” the statement said.
According to the NDLEA, the first container with 5.001kg meth came under the radar of the agency’s intelligence network on 4th October 2024 when the preparation for the shipment began in Toronto, Canada, monitored through 8th October when the shipment was received at the rail ramp, loaded on the rail and departed to Montreal, Canada where it arrived and was unloaded the following day 9th October.
“The consignment was further monitored till it was loaded on a vessel on 19th October through when the vessel arrived and discharged at Antwerp in Belgium on 30th October after which the consignment was trans-shipped and loaded on 14th November before arriving Lagos port on 1st December and released to a bonded terminal two days after.
“The second shipment containing 867.5kg Loud and 78.3kg methamphetamine followed the same route. It came under NDLEA’s intelligence tracking on 8th October 2024 when the consignments were delivered to the shipper in Toronto, Canada, loaded on the rail on 14th October and arrived Montreal the following day, 15th, after which they were loaded on a vessel to Europe on 20th October. After arrival and trans-shipment at Antwerp in Belgium on 6th and 17th November respectively, the consignments were tracked till they arrived and discharged from the vessel at Lagos port on 6th December before being moved to the terminal on 10th December,” the agency stated.
