The Nigeria Customs Service, Port and Terminal Multiservices Ltd. (PTML) command has intercepted a cocaine shipment valued at ₦29.4 billion.
Controller of the command; Comptroller Joe Anani, disclosed this on Tuesday during a media briefing at the command in Lagos.
Anani said the interception followed a report from the PTML terminal operator, who discovered suspicious packages in one of 39 empty containers meant for export loading.
He stated that a 20-foot container, numbered GCNU1332851 and brought in from Freetown, Sierra Leone, was flagged during a routine disinfection exercise on Oct. 7.
According to him, once the terminal operator alerted the command, a joint examination was conducted with officers from NDLEA, DSS, Police Anti-Bomb Squad, and other agencies.
He explained that 50 packages containing 20 parcels each were uncovered during the inspection, and rapid tests confirmed the contents as cocaine.
According to Anani, the cocaine weighed a total of 1,000 kilogrammes, equivalent to one tonne, with a duty-paid value of ₦29.4 billion.
He clarified that the container did not arrive Nigeria as an import consignment but was among empty containers brought in by the terminal operator for export purposes.
“This incident is one of the most mysterious cocaine interceptions in the history of the Service,” Anani said.
He added that no arrest had been made since the container had no known consignee linked to it at the time of discovery.
Anani commended the PTML terminal operator for promptly reporting the anomaly and praised the cooperation among security agencies involved in the operation.
“This seizure highlights the high level of vigilance and collaboration among our officers, terminal operators, and sister security agencies.
“The command remains committed to protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s ports and ensuring PTML stays a no-go area for prohibited imports and exports,” he said.
He said that on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr Bashir Adeniyi, the seizure would be handed over to the NDLEA for further investigation.
The historic seizure, jointly handled by Customs and NDLEA officials, further strengthens synergy between port stakeholders in tackling illicit trade.
It also reinforces efforts aimed at securing Nigeria’s maritime borders and upholding international standards in port operations, according to the report.
——NDLEA, Foreign Agencies Probe Cartel Behind 1,000kg Cocaine Bust—-
Meanwhile, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says it is working with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) to unravel the cartel behind the importation of 1,000kg of cocaine.
A statement by the NDLEA Director, Media Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi said on Tuesday in Abuja that the drugs were recovered from a container at the PTML Terminal of Tincan Island Port in Lagos.
Babafemi said that the PTML operators had noticed the consignment in an empty container last weekend and invited port stakeholders including NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies for joint examination.
He said that after field tests by NDLEA confirmed the shipment to be cocaine, the consignment was formally transferred to NDLEA custody for further investigation on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
This, he said, followed collaborative engagements between the NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig.-Gen Buba Marwa and the Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Dr Adewale Adeniyi.
“The large quantity of the recovered Class A drug is worth over $235million dollars (Over N338 billion) in the international market and the global dimension to the cocaine cartel.
“Marwa on Tuesday, Nov. 11 directed that the agency’s leading international partners be involved in the investigation.
“In a swift response to the agency’s request, officers of the US-DEA and UK-NCA have already joined the ongoing investigation of the largest single seizure of cocaine at the Tincan Port Lagos,” he said
Marwa said that the essence of collaborating with the international partners on the case was to ensure no stone was left unturned and every gap was sufficiently covered.
This, he said would ultimately get all the masterminds of the huge consignment brought to book wherever they were located across the globe.
