The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it is working with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) to unravel the cartel behind the importation of 1,000kg of cocaine.
In a statement on Tuesday, the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the drugs were recovered from a container at the PTML Terminal of Tincan Island Port in Lagos.
Mr Babafemi said the PTML operators had noticed the consignment in an empty container last weekend and invited port stakeholders, including NDLEA, customs, and other security agencies, for joint examination.
He said that after field tests by NDLEA confirmed the shipment to be cocaine, the consignment was formally transferred to NDLEA custody for further investigation on Tuesday, November 11.
Mr Babafemi said this followed collaborative engagements between the NDLEA chairman, retired Brig.-Gen Buba Marwa, and the comptroller general, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi.
“The large quantity of the recovered Class A drug is worth over $235 million (Over N338 billion) in the international market and the global dimension to the cocaine cartel.
“Marwa, on Tuesday, November 11, directed that the agency’s leading international partners be involved in the investigation.
“In a swift response to the agency’s request, officers of the US-DEA and UK-NCA have already joined the ongoing investigation of the largest single seizure of cocaine at the Tincan Port Lagos,” he said
Mr Marwa said the essence of collaborating with international partners on the case was to ensure that no stone was left unturned and every gap was sufficiently covered.
He said this would ultimately bring to book all the masterminds behind the huge consignment, wherever they were located across the globe.
(NAN)