The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has commenced a joint investigation with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) following the interception of 1,000 kilograms of cocaine at the PTML Terminal, Tincan Island Port, Lagos.
According to a statement by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters, the consignment was discovered after PTML terminal operators noticed suspicious packages in an empty container and alerted port stakeholders.
A joint examination was conducted with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Police Anti-Bomb Squad, Department of State Services (DSS), and other security agencies. NDLEA’s field test later confirmed the substance as cocaine.
The seizure, formally transferred to NDLEA custody on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, is valued at over $235 million (about N338 billion) in the international market.
Customs’ earlier discovery
Nairametrics had earlier reported that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), PTML Command, announced the interception of the cocaine shipment valued at N29.4 billion, marking one of the most significant drug seizures in its history.
Controller of the PTML Command, Comptroller Joe Anani, said the suspicious container, numbered GCNU1332851, was one of 39 empty containers imported from Freetown, Sierra Leone, and discovered during a routine disinfection exercise on October 7.
“This incident is one of the most mysterious cocaine interceptions in the history of the Service,” Anani said.
He added that no arrests had been made yet, as the container had no identifiable owner or documentation linking it to any consignee.
International collaboration
Following the confirmation of the substance, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), directed that the agency’s leading international partners be involved in the investigation due to the global scale of the cartel behind the shipment.
Marwa said this decision followed direct coordination between him and the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Adewale Adeniyi, to ensure all security agencies work in sync on the case.
In response, officers of the US-DEA and UK-NCA have joined the ongoing probe into what has been described as the largest single cocaine seizure ever recorded at Tincan Port.
“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. This followed personal excellent engagement between me and the Customs CG on this case,” Marwa stated.
What you should know
Last weekend, NDLEA arrested 40-year-old Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, a wanted UK fugitive, at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos. Azeez, who had been under surveillance for months, was nabbed while attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
- According to NDLEA, Azeez had been charged with drug offences in the United Kingdom but jumped bail and fled to Nigeria. A follow-up raid on his Lekki residence led to the arrest of another suspect, 43-year-old Abideen Kekere-Ekun, and the recovery of 148.3 kilograms of Colorado (a synthetic cannabis), precursor chemicals, and other illicit substances.
- In separate operations across Bayelsa, Taraba, Niger, Kogi, Kaduna, and Lagos, NDLEA operatives also seized Colorado, Molly, methamphetamine, tramadol, and Loud.
At the Sifax bonded terminal in Okota, a joint operation with Customs uncovered 105.5 kilograms of Molly and 500 grams of methamphetamine on Friday, November 7.
