The NDLEA, in a statement issued on Tuesday by its Director, Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the PTML terminal operators discovered the consignment in an empty container over the weekend.
According to Babafemi, the operators promptly alerted port stakeholders, including officials of the NDLEA, Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies, for a joint inspection.
He said a field test conducted by NDLEA operatives confirmed that the suspicious shipment contained cocaine.
The consignment was subsequently handed over to the NDLEA for further investigation on Tuesday, November 11, following a collaborative engagement between the NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), and the Comptroller General of Customs, Dr. Adewale Adeniyi.
The recovered substance, he said, weighing one metric ton, is estimated to be worth over $235 million (approximately N338billion) in the international market, marking it as one of the largest single drug seizures ever recorded at the Tincan Port.
“As a result of the large quantity of the recovered Class A drug, which is worth over $235 million (Over N338billion) in the international market and the global dimension to the cocaine cartel, Marwa, on Tuesday, 11 November, directed that the Agency’s leading international partners be involved in the investigation,” Babafemi stated.
He said that in a swift response to the agency’s request, officers from both the DEA and NCA have joined the ongoing probe to trace the transnational network behind the cocaine shipment.
In his reaction to the seizure and ongoing investigation, Marwa said, “The essence of collaborating with our international partners on this case is to ensure no stone is left unturned and every gap is sufficiently covered so that ultimately we can get all the masterminds of this huge consignment brought to book wherever they are located across the globe.”
He added that the collaboration followed “excellent personal engagement” between himself and the Customs Comptroller General, describing the operation as an example of effective inter-agency synergy.
