By Desire Emmanuel
Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agency, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is working with its United States and British counterparts to investigate the origins of a $235 million (about N338 billion) cocaine shipment seized at the Tincan Port in Lagos State.
The seizure was described as one of the country’s largest drug hauls in recent times.
The NDLEA said in a statement on Tuesday, November 11, that 1,000 kilogrammes of cocaine was discovered in an empty container at a terminal over the weekend. It however did not reveal where the shipment came from.
Terminal operators alerted the NDLEA and other port security agencies, which jointly examined the consignment, the statement added.
The drugs were formally handed over to the NDLEA on Tuesday after tests confirmed the substance was cocaine.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) joined the investigation at the invitation of the Nigerian government.
“The essence of collaborating with our international partners on this case is to ensure no stone is left unturned… so that ultimately we can get all the masterminds of this huge consignment brought to book, wherever they are located across the globe,” NDLEA Chairman, Buba Marwa, said in the statement.
