The Port and Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has recorded a significant breakthrough in the nation’s ongoing fight against drug trafficking, with officers intercepting a large consignment of cocaine valued at ₦29.4 billion.
The discovery was made after terminal personnel flagged irregularities in one of 39 empty containers scheduled for export. The suspicious 20-foot container, numbered GCNU1332851, had arrived from Freetown, Sierra Leone, and was isolated on October 7 during a routine disinfection exercise.
According to the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Joe Anani, the alert from the terminal operator prompted a coordinated response from security agencies. A joint examination team comprising operatives of the NDLEA, DSS, Police Anti-Bomb Squad and other relevant units uncovered 50 sealed packages, each containing 20 compressed parcels of cocaine. Laboratory tests later confirmed the substance, with a total weight of 1,000 kilograms (one tonne).
Describing the seizure as “one of the most unusual and significant in the Command’s recent records,” Anani revealed that no suspects have been linked to the shipment so far, as the container had no declared consignee or identifiable owner.
He commended the vigilance of the terminal workers and the synergy among security agencies, noting that the interception reinforces PTML Command’s commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s borders and preventing the ports from being used for illicit trade.
The confiscated drugs have been handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation and possible prosecution.