Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted massive consignments of “Loud” — a potent strain of cannabis — and codeine-based cough syrup with a combined street value exceeding ₦5 billion at three major Nigerian seaports.
The seizures followed months of intelligence gathering and tracking of the shipments from their ports of origin. According to a statement by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the operations took place at Apapa, Tin Can Island and Onne ports in collaboration with Customs and other security agencies.
At Apapa Port in Lagos, officers subjected two containers from Bangkok, Thailand, to full examination. One container yielded 161 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 124 kg, valued at ₦372 million. The drugs were cleverly concealed inside two refrigerators and two cartons.
At Tin Can Island Port, also in Lagos, a watch-listed container from Montreal, Canada, was jointly examined. Officers recovered 2,595 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 1,297.5 kg, with a street value of over ₦3.8 billion. The cannabis was hidden inside a Toyota Sienna, a Hyundai Elantra, 24 blue drums and six jumbo bags.
In Rivers State, two intelligence-flagged containers at Onne Port produced further significant finds. One contained 40 packs of Loud weighing 22 kg, concealed in a travelling bag and three of five vehicles (Toyota Matrix, Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Elantra). The second container held 109,600 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup weighing 16,440 kg. The codeine consignment had originated from India, transited through Saudi Arabia where its shipping history was deleted, and carried a combined street value (with the Loud) of ₦833.2 million.
In a related airport operation, NDLEA officers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, arrested 28-year-old businessman Philip Tunde on 27 September 2026 as he prepared to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy. A search at the Terminal 2 joint screening point uncovered 4.80 kg of cocaine: 16 parcels hidden in the soles of eight pairs of trainers and canvas shoes, plus 195 wraps concealed in the railings of four travelling bags.
During interrogation, Tunde claimed he paid ₦16 million in cash for the cocaine in the shoes and that the bags were intended for a partner in Italy. He said the funds came from compensation for an industrial injury in Italy that cost him the tips of two fingers.
Elsewhere, NDLEA teams destroyed 20,234 kg of skunk cannabis on 8.0936 hectares of farmland in Area 4, Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State. In Lagos, officers raided an unoccupied compound at Divine Estate, Ago Palace, recovering 209,000 tablets of tramadol. A follow-up operation at Ladipo Spare Parts Market led to the arrest of 23-year-old Ekundayo Taiwo with 61 grams of Colorado (a synthetic cannabis strain) and 24 grams of methamphetamine concealed in an energy-drink bottle that had been transported as a waybill package along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the operatives for the string of successful operations and urged sustained pressure on drug trafficking networks across the country.
