THE operatives of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), have intercepted shipments of methamphetamine and Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, worth billions of naira.
The drugs were concealed in automobile spare parts imported from Canada and seized at the Tincan Seaport in Lagos.
The NDLEA stated that the seizure of these illicit drugs, intended for distribution during the Christmas and New Year festive season, followed months of intelligence-driven tracking across three continents.
This was disclosed in a statement, yesterday, by the Director of Media & Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi revealed that two consignments of methamphetamine, weighing a total of 83.301 kilograms, were recovered from separate containers carrying vehicles and spare parts shipped from Canada.
These consignments were headed for warehouses in the Ladipo automobile parts market in the Mushin area of Lagos. This marks a first in the history of NDLEA’s anti-narcotic operations.
“One of the containers destined for Ladipo Market via the Sifax bonded terminal was examined. During the inspection, 5.001 kilograms of methamphetamine were discovered hidden in a bag wrapped in a bedsheet within a Toyota Camry. A businessman, Isaac Onwumere, linked to the consignment, was promptly arrested,” Babafemi stated.
“The second container, which was inspected, was found to contain 1,735 parcels of Loud packed in 44 jumbo bags, weighing a total of 867.5 kilograms, alongside six plastic coolers containing 87 packs of methamphetamine with a combined weight of 78.3 kilograms. Two businessmen, Nwanolue Emeka and Friday Ogbe, have been arrested in connection with this seizure.
“The two methamphetamine consignments, weighing 83.301 kilograms, are valued at ₦124,951,000, while the 867.5 kilograms of Loud have a street value of ₦2,168,750,000.”
The seizures were made during a joint examination of the shipments by NDLEA operatives, Customs officers, and other port stakeholders. These operations followed months of intelligence processing and tracking of the consignments from their point of origin in Canada to their arrival at the Lagos port.
“The first container, containing 5.001 kilograms of methamphetamine, came under NDLEA surveillance when preparations for the shipment began in Toronto, Canada. The consignment was monitored through its journey, including its loading onto a vessel, its arrival and discharge at Antwerp, Belgium,
