A routine stop on a major highway has exploded into one of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s biggest cannabis seizures, after operatives uncovered 2,145 kilogrammes of cannabis hidden inside a 20,000-litre fuel tanker in Ondo State.
The tanker, marked MKA 960 XC, was intercepted along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway on Friday, September 4, following an alleged refusal by the driver to stop when flagged down by NDLEA officers.
Faced with the approaching operatives, the driver reportedly abandoned the tanker at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush.
But the escape left behind a stunning discovery.
When NDLEA operatives searched the tanker, they found a secret compartment concealed inside the vehicle, packed with 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg.
The drugs were allegedly being transported alongside the legitimate fuel cargo, reportedly destined for Jos, Plateau State.
‘NOTORIOUS’ TANKER FINALLY CAUGHT
According to the NDLEA, the tanker had allegedly gained notoriety for evading arrest during previous operations.
This time, however, intelligence and persistence finally brought the vehicle into the agency’s custody.
The seizure, the agency said, represents a significant breakthrough in efforts to dismantle trafficking networks that are increasingly turning to legitimate commercial operations and sophisticated concealment methods to move illicit drugs across the country.
NATIONWIDE DRUG NET TIGHTENS
The dramatic Ondo interception was part of a wider NDLEA crackdown that produced major seizures across Lagos, Adamawa, Ondo, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu states.
In Lagos, operatives intercepted a staggering 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, valued at more than ₦1.1 billion.
The tablets were reportedly hidden among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment originating from Pakistan.
Another Lagos operation yielded 57.8kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, reportedly worth more than ₦173 million.
At Tincan Port, officers intercepted 598.08kg of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies concealed inside a 40-foot container. The seizure followed an earlier interception involving 842.54kg of cannabis-infused cookies.
CEMENT TRUCK HIDES 1.1 TONNES OF SKUNK
In Kaduna State, traffickers allegedly turned a truck carrying bags of cement into a cover for another massive drug shipment.
NDLEA officers intercepted the vehicle along the Zaria-Kano Expressway and recovered 1,179kg of skunk.
In Kogi State, 636kg of cannabis was reportedly concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Ondo State towards Jos along the Okene/Lokoja highway.
The drug haul was uncovered despite the elaborate attempt to disguise it as agricultural cargo.
OPIOIDS, METHAMPHETAMINE, TRAMADOL SEIZED
Adamawa also recorded major seizures, with NDLEA operatives recovering 864,000 opioid pills, particularly tramadol, from a residence linked to a suspect who reportedly fled.
Another operation in Michika yielded 2kg of methamphetamine.
In Taraba, officers recovered more than 109kg of assorted controlled substances, including tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin.
Enugu was not spared, as 40,590 tramadol capsules were intercepted at Ugbema Junction.
Meanwhile, in Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest and recovered 117kg of already harvested skunk.
MARWA: NO HIDING PLACE FOR TRAFFICKERS
NDLEA Director of Media and Publicity, Femi Babafemi, said the seizures reflected the agency’s continued intelligence-led campaign against drug trafficking networks.
He said traffickers were constantly developing new methods to conceal and transport illicit substances, but the agency was equally stepping up its intelligence and operational capabilities.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended the officers involved in the operations.
Marwa warned that traffickers who attempt to hide behind legitimate businesses, new identities or sophisticated concealment techniques would continue to come under the agency’s radar.
From fuel tankers to cement trucks, buses, containers and forest plantations, the latest seizures expose the lengths to which traffickers are going to move illicit drugs — and the widening net NDLEA is deploying to stop them.
NDLEA Seizes 2,145kg of Cannabis Hidden in 20,000-Litre Fuel Tanker
