Customs Intercepts N29.4 Billion Of Cocaine In Lagos

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the Port and Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) Command in Lagos has seized a significant cocaine shipment worth N29.4 billion, trafficked from Freetown, Sierra Leone.

The one-tonne (1,000kg) consignment, described as one of the most mysterious cocaine seizures in Nigeria’s maritime history, has been handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation.

The PTML Area Controller, Comptroller Joe Anani, who disclosed this to reporters in Lagos, said the discovery followed a prompt report by the PTML terminal operator, who noticed suspicious packages in one of 39 empty containers meant for export loading.

According to Anani, the 20-foot container, numbered GCNU1332851, had arrived from Sierra Leone and was flagged during a routine disinfection exercise. “The terminal operator alerted the command immediately, and a joint examination was conducted alongside officers of the NDLEA, Department of State Services (DSS), Police Anti-Bomb Squad, and other agencies,” he said.

During the inspection, 50 packages containing 20 parcels each were uncovered. Rapid field tests confirmed the contents as cocaine, weighing a total of 1,000 kilograms (one tonne) with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N29,403,738,000.

Anani explained that the shipment did not arrive Nigeria as an import consignment, but was part of a batch of empty containers brought in by the terminal operator for export purposes. He described the seizure as “one of the most mysterious cocaine interceptions” ever recorded by the Customs Service, as the container had no consignee linked to it and no arrest had yet been made.

He commended the PTML terminal operator for promptly alerting authorities, praising the synergy among security agencies that led to the successful operation.

“This seizure underscores the high level of cooperation and vigilance among our officers, terminal operators, and sister security agencies,” Anani said, reaffirming the service’s commitment to keeping the country’s ports free from prohibited imports and exports. 

“On behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, we will be handing over the seizure to the NDLEA for further investigation and necessary action,” he added.

Following the handover, the NDLEA confirmed that it had commenced a full-scale international investigation in collaboration with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) to track down the cartel behind the shipment.

NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the consignment, worth over $235 million (approximately ₦338 billion) in the international market, was the largest single seizure of cocaine ever recorded at the Tincan Island Port, Lagos.

He said the NDLEA took formal custody of the consignment on Tuesday after a collaborative engagement between its Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), and the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Adewale Adeniyi.

Babafemi said: “As a result of the large quantity of the recovered Class A drug and the global dimension to the cocaine cartel, the NDLEA chairman directed that our leading international partners be involved in the investigation. In a swift response, officers of the US-DEA and UK-NCA have already joined the ongoing probe.”

Reacting to the development, Marwa said the joint investigation with international partners was crucial to ensuring that all members of the syndicate behind the cocaine shipment were identified and prosecuted.

“The essence of collaborating with our international partners on this case is to ensure no stone is left unturned and every gap is sufficiently covered, so that we can get all the masterminds of this huge consignment brought to book wherever they are located across the globe,” Marwa stated.

He commended the Customs Service and other security agencies for their vigilance and cooperation, describing the operation as a model of effective inter-agency collaboration in Nigeria’s ongoing war against drug trafficking.