A joint operation involving NDLEA, Nigeria Customs, the US DEA, UK authorities, and Canadian police foils a massive drug shipment hidden inside vehicles bound for Lagos.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Wednesday uncovered a massive consignment of illicit drugs valued at more than ₦10.

4 billion at Tincan Island, Lagos.
The agency disclosed that it intercepted 4,173.5 kilograms of “Canadian Loud,” a high-potency strain of cannabis, following an extensive intelligence-driven operation that lasted over two months and involved several international partners.
According to the NDLEA, the shipment departed Toronto on March 28, 2026, and was transported by rail to Montreal before being shipped to Tanger Med Port in Morocco. It was later reloaded onto another vessel heading to Lagos, where it arrived on May 9.
Unaware that the consignment had been under surveillance, the traffickers were monitored closely by NDLEA’s Marine Intelligence Unit and the Tincan Island Strategic Command in collaboration with the United Kingdom Home Office International Operations, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The operation was concluded on May 12 during a joint inspection of the container carried out by NDLEA operatives, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies.
The drugs were expertly concealed inside two vehicles — a used Ford bus and a Mercedes-Benz C300 — loaded in the container in an attempt to avoid detection.
The seizure comes only days after another major operation in Lekki, Lagos, where NDLEA recovered 2,326 kilograms of similar substances worth over ₦5.8 billion from a mansion allegedly used as a stash house. The development has heightened concerns over coordinated attempts by international drug syndicates to flood Nigeria with synthetic cannabis.
Reacting to the latest breakthrough, NDLEA Chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa, said the interception demonstrates that authorities are tightening the noose around transnational drug networks exploiting Nigeria’s ports.
Marwa commended the collaboration between NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service, and international partners, assuring that the agency would continue efforts to track and dismantle every link in the illicit drug supply chain.
The operation further underscores the scale of the narcotics threat and the growing sophistication of trafficking networks, as Nigeria’s ports remain a major frontline in the global fight against illegal drugs.