How NDLEA Intercepted Thailand-Sourced Cannabis at Apapa and Lekki

Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says it seized synthetic cannabis valued at more than N4.4 billion at Apapa Port and Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos during joint examinations with Customs and other agencies. The agency described the shipments as Thai “Loud”, a high-potency form of cannabis indica loaded at Laem Chabang port in Thailand.

At Apapa, officials found 1,090.5kg of the substance packed in 54 cartons inside a container declared as dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries. At Lekki, four of seven pallets in a monitored container were laced with Thai Loud, yielding 96 cartons and 400 parcels weighing 400kg; the remaining three pallets held A4 paper used as cover.

The agency also announced the arrest of a 101-year-old woman in Ilisan, Ogun State, found with 90 grams of skunk in retail sachets. She told operatives she began selling the drug after her provisions shop burned down and that a daughter in Lagos arranged supplies every four days. NDLEA's chairman directed bail and counselling for the centenarian because of her age, while the daughter was arrested.

Elsewhere, NDLEA reported raids and arrests in Ondo, Kwara, Kano, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Oyo and Abuja. They included interception of a wooden boat heading to Cameroonian fishing settlements, destruction of 10,000kg of cannabis plants on a four-hectare farm in Ondo, and recovery of methamphetamine, tramadol, codeine syrup and diazepam in separate operations.

What the Lagos Port Seizures Reveal About a New Trafficking Corridor

Apapa and Lekki open a new Thailand–Lagos maritime route

If the agency's account is accurate, this is its first maritime seizure of drugs shipped from Thailand, after intercepting two containers loaded at Laem Chabang. That matters because it suggests traffickers are shifting beyond traditional source countries and using mixed commercial cargo to hide large consignments inside ordinary port traffic.

At Apapa, everyday goods such as dry fish, rice, spare parts, soap and inverter batteries were the declared cover. At Lekki, A4 paper pallets served as concealment and filler. Joint examinations with Customs and monitoring of the Lekki container by the Marine Special Operations Unit indicate closer inter-agency watchlisting at Nigeria's two leading maritime gateways.

The 101-year-old arrest is both enforcement and a welfare signal

The Ogun State case is unusual because of the suspect's age and the alleged involvement of her daughter. NDLEA's decision to grant bail and counselling rather than detention shows discretion toward an elderly low-level retailer. At the same time, the daughter's arrest suggests investigators are following the supply chain rather than stopping at the street-level seller.

Raids point to a coordinated domestic supply disruption

The operations in Ondo, Abia, Kano, Oyo and Akwa Ibom show the agency combining port interdiction with farmland destruction, highway seizures and pharmaceutical-pill recoveries. This is wider than a single port bust: it targets cultivation, maritime entry, road transport and parcel channels in parallel.

What Port Users and Freight Operators Should Expect Next

  • Importers and clearing agents on Thailand–Lagos routes should expect additional joint NDLEA and Customs checks, especially for containers from Laem Chabang and mixed declarations such as dry fish, rice, spare parts, turmeric soap or inverter batteries.
  • Freight forwarders and port operators at Apapa and Lekki should ensure consignment descriptions match physical cargo, because discrepancies are now more likely to trigger full examination rather than routine release.
  • Transport and parcel companies moving waybill packages from Enugu to Abuja should note that NDLEA is intercepting passenger-bus cargo; 24,410 tramadol pills were found in a bus in Abuja, with the owner traced to Niger State.