NDLEA seizes N12.4bn cannabis shipment, arrests traffickers

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has announced a series of major drug seizures and arrests across Nigeria, including the interception of a multi-billion-naira cannabis shipment at Lagos's Apapa Port and the dismantling of a syndicate that plants narcotics in the luggage of unsuspecting bus passengers. The agency detailed the operations in a statement issued on Sunday.

The largest seizure involved a 40-foot container carrying 4,959 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, with an estimated street value of 12.397 billion naira. Agency officials stated that the container, which also held a Ford and a Nissan vehicle, had been tracked for over four weeks since departing Toronto, Canada, on April 25. It transited through Montreal and Morocco before arriving in Lagos. The contraband was recovered during a joint examination at Apapa Port on June 23 involving the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies.

In a separate airport operation, NDLEA operatives arrested a 38-year-old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. She was apprehended at the departure hall of Terminal 2 on June 21 while...