The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a new maritime trafficking route being exploited by drug syndicates to smuggle cannabis indica, popularly known as Loud, from Thailand into Nigeria, following the seizure of 1.49 tonnes of the illicit substance at the Apapa and Lekki Deep Sea ports in Lagos.
According to an official statement signed by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, the two consignments intercepted at the ports had a combined street value of more than N4.4 billion.
The Agency said the seizures marked its first-ever interception of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through the maritime corridor, raising concerns over the emergence of a new international route for the smuggling of synthetic cannabis into Nigeria.
At Apapa Port, NDLEA operatives, working with the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders, jointly examined a container on Friday, August 21, 2026. The container had been declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries.
However, the examination uncovered 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud packed in 54 cartons containing 2,181 sachets of 500 grammes each.
The second seizure was recorded at the Lekki Deep Sea Port, where a container earlier placed on the NDLEA watchlist was subjected to a joint examination on Wednesday, August 19.
The Agency’s Marine Special Operations Unit had monitored the container before the examination, which revealed seven pallets wrapped in black nylon. Four of the pallets contained 96 cartons of Thai Loud, comprising 400 parcels weighing a total of 400kg.
The remaining three pallets contained 798 rims of A4 paper, which investigators said had been used as cover for the illicit consignment.
The two containers were loaded at the Port of Laem Chabang in Thailand before being shipped to Nigeria, providing the NDLEA with evidence of an emerging maritime route being exploited by international drug trafficking networks.
The seizures formed part of wider enforcement operations conducted by NDLEA commands across the country, during which the Agency also intercepted consignments of cocaine, methamphetamine, tramadol, codeine, diazepam and other illicit substances.
In Akwa Ibom State, operatives intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas allegedly transporting illicit drugs to fishing settlements in Cameroon. Three suspects were arrested with 42.622kg of narcotics, including 20 grammes of cocaine concealed inside edible cassava flour popularly known as fufu.
In Ogun State, NDLEA operatives also arrested a 101-year-old woman, Esther Ogunmabo, with 90 grammes of skunk allegedly packaged for retail sale. The NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), subsequently directed that she be granted bail and placed on counselling because of her advanced age, while her daughter was arrested.
In the Federal Capital Territory, operatives intercepted 24,410 tramadol capsules concealed in three waybill packages inside a Hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba. A follow-up operation in Niger State led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the consignment, 28-year-old Sunday Eze, in Kontagora.
The Agency also reported major seizures and arrests in Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Lagos and Abia states as part of its continuing nationwide crackdown on illicit drug trafficking.
In Ondo State alone, operatives destroyed 10,000kg of skunk cultivated across four hectares of cannabis farm in Ijare forest, while another 210kg of skunk was recovered at Ita-Ogbolu.
In Kwara State, 1.325kg of methamphetamine and quantities of cannabis were recovered from a vehicle along the Ogbomosho-Ilorin Expressway, leading to the arrest of a 22-year-old suspect, Muhammadu Usman.
NDLEA also arrested a 65-year-old woman, Adebayo Kaosarat, in Ibadan, Oyo State, with 4.68kg of assorted illicit substances, including Scottish Loud, tramadol, codeine syrup, diazepam and flunitrazepam.
In Kano State, 73.3kg of skunk was recovered from a suspect, while in Seme, Lagos State, three members of the same family were arrested with 48kg of skunk. In Abia State, operatives recovered 14.4kg of Loud, 2.3kg of Colorado, 386 grammes of tramadol and 134 grammes of Rohypnol from a suspect’s residence.
The NDLEA said its commands and formations also sustained War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country.
Commending the officers and men involved in the operations, Marwa urged them to sustain the Agency’s balanced approach to drug control, combining interdiction and prosecution with drug prevention, public sensitisation and counselling.
The latest seizures, particularly the interception of the Thai Loud consignments, underscore the growing sophistication of international drug trafficking networks and the NDLEA’s intensified efforts to disrupt emerging supply routes into Nigeria.
