The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted large consignments of cocaine and colorado, a strong strain of cannabis, concealed in containerized household items and vehicles imported from Durban, South Africa, and Canada at the Tincan Seaport in Lagos.
The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said in a statement that the interception followed coordinated intelligence and months of tracking of the containers by three special units of NDLEA.
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He said the illicit drugs, along with arms, ammunition, and other military effects, were seized during a joint examination of the three containers by the agency’s officers and their counterparts from Customs Service and other security agencies between Thursday, January 18th, and Friday, January 19th, 2024.
Some of the agency’s sniffer dogs were also deployed to help identify locations and bags used in concealing the illicit items.
He listed some of the items recovered from the containers to include: 1, 274 parcels of cocaine and colorado with a total weight of 884.09 kilograms; four pistols; 197 rounds of 9mm ammunition; 49 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition; 275 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition; 14 rounds of 9mm ammunition; and various military personnel effects, as well as some chemicals in kegs. The 32.5kg shipment of Colorado came in used vehicles from Canada.
The rest of the items were found in two of three containers that arrived at the Tincan port from Durban, South Africa, onboard a vessel marked MSC RESILIENT III and discharged on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2023.
The NDLEA also said a suspect linked to one of the containers, UACU 5348336, bearing the 32.5kg colorado, 41-year-old Akara Chibugo, has already been tracked and arrested by NDLEA operatives.
Meanwhile, two vigilant freight agents and a traveler escaped being roped into two drug trafficking operations by desperate traffickers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos.
The statement stated that the two agents were contacted to send a consignment of 1 kg of cannabis concealed in tins of Milo beverage to Turkey but chose to submit the shipment to NDLEA checks before processing the cargo. The psychoactive substance was later discovered to be hidden inside the shipment.