From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted multi-billion-naira worth of shipments of Methamphetamine and Loud, a strong synthetic strain of cannabis, meant for distribution during the Christmas and New Year festive season.
The banned substances, which were concealed in automobile spare parts imported from Canada, were intercepted by the agency at the Tincan Seaport in Lagos after months of intelligence-driven tracking of the cargoes across three continents.
In another successful operation, the anti-narcotic agency arrested three businessmen linked to consignments in Lagos and recovered N4.4 billion worth of opioids in Rivers.
A statement by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babagemi, stated that, “For the first time in the history of NDLEA’s anti-narcotic operations, two consignments of methamphetamine weighing 83.301 kilograms were, on Thursday and Friday, December 12th and 13th, 2024, recovered from separate containers bearing vehicles and spare parts coming from Canada and heading to warehouses in the Ladipo automobile parts market in the Mushin area of Lagos.”
While one of the containers going to Ladipo market through the Sifax bonded terminal was examined on Thursday, December 12th, no less than 5.001 kg of methamphetamine hidden in a bag wrapped in a bedsheet that came in a Toyota Camry car was recovered, even as a businessman, Isaac Onwumere, linked with the consignment, was promptly arrested.
The other container bearing automobile spare parts, checked on Friday, December 13th, was found to contain 1,735 parcels of Loud packed in 44 jumbo bags with a total weight of 867.5 kg, and six plastic coolers containing 87 packs of methamphetamine weighing 78.3 kg. At least two businessmen—Nwanolue Emeka and Friday Ogbe—have been arrested in connection with the seizure.
The two meth consignments have a combined weight of 83.301 kg worth N124,951,000.00, while the 867.5 kg of Loud is worth N2,168,750,000.00 in street value.
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 the combined Special Operations Units in NDLEA and the Tincan Port Strategic Command of the Agency.
The first container with 5.001 kg of meth came under the radar of NDLEA’s intelligence network on October 4th, 2024, when the preparation for the shipment began in Toronto, Canada, monitored through October 8th, 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, October 9th.
The consignment was further monitored until it was loaded on a vessel on October 19th, and the vessel arrived and discharged at Antwerp in Belgium on October 30th. After this, the consignment was trans-shipped and loaded on November 14th before arriving at Lagos Port on December 1st and being released to a bonded terminal two days later.
The second shipment containing 867.5 kg of Loud and 78.3 kg of methamphetamine followed the same route.
It came under NDLEA’s intelligence tracking on October 8th, 2024, when the consignments were delivered to the shipper in Toronto, Canada, loaded on the rail on October 14th, and arrived in Montreal the following day, October 15th. Afterward, they were loaded on a vessel to Europe on October 20th. Upon arrival and trans-shipment at Antwerp in Belgium on November 6th and 17th, respectively, the consignments were tracked until they arrived and were discharged from the vessel at Lagos Port on December 6th before being moved to the terminal on December 10th.
At the Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers State, no fewer than 636,600 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth N4,456,200,000.00 in street value were intercepted in shipments from India on Monday, December 9th, Wednesday, December 11th, and Friday, December 13th, 2024.
The seizures were made during joint examination of four containers by NDLEA officers, Customs, and other security agencies at the port following processed credible intelligence on the shipments.
With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities to schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities, among others, in the past week.
These include: WADA sensitisation lectures to students and staff of City Comprehensive College, Ogidi, Anambra; Government Secondary School, Toungo, Adamawa; Bonny Camp Primary School, Victoria Island, Lagos; Government Junior Secondary School, Yarganji, Kano, while the Oyo State Command of NDLEA delivered WADA enlightenment lectures to leaders, elders, youths, and residents of Tapa community, Tapa, among others.
While commending the officers and men of the Special Operations Units, Tincan, and Onne Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd.), stated that the operational successes should show the drug barons and cartels that the Agency has the capacity and intelligence network to track their movements and their consignments even before they reach Nigeria.
He said they will continue to lose heavily if they fail to back down on the criminal trade.