The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted large consignments of Cocaine and Colorado, a strong strain of cannabis, concealed in containerised household items and vehicles imported from Durban in South Africa and Canada at the Tincan Seaport in Lagos State.
This was disclosed via a statement issued by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, January 21, 2024.
Babafemi stated that the illicit drugs were intercepted at the seaport along with arms, ammunition, and sundry military effects during a joint examination of three containers by the NDLEA officers and their counterparts from the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies between Thursday, January 18, and Friday, January 19, 2024.
He said the seizure followed coordinated intelligence and months of tracking of the containers by three special units of the anti-drug agency.
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The NDLEA spokesman added that 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 sundry military personnel effects as well as some chemicals in kegs.
“With the exception of 32.5kg shipment of Colorado that came in used vehicles from Canada, the rest of the items were found in two of three containers that arrived the Tincan port from Durban, South Africa onboard a vessel marked MSC RESILIENT III and discharged on New Year eve, 31st December 2023.
“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,” Babafemi disclosed.
He added that two vigilant freight agents and a traveler escaped being lured into two drug trafficking operations by desperate traffickers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos State.
“The two agents were contacted to send a consignment of 1kg 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,” the NDLEA spokesperson said.
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