NDLEA, US, UK partners track cartel behind N338bn cocaine shipment

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has launched a joint investigation with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the United Kingdom National Crime Agency to identify those behind the importation of 1,000 kilogrammes of cocaine valued at over $235m (about N338bn). The shipment was intercepted at the PTML Terminal of the Tincan Island Port, Lagos.

According to a statement on Tuesday by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, operators at the PTML Terminal discovered the drug-laden consignment inside an empty container and alerted port stakeholders, including the NDLEA and the Nigeria Customs Service, leading to a joint inspection.

Babafemi said field tests conducted by NDLEA officers confirmed the substance to be cocaine, after which the shipment was taken into the agency’s custody on Tuesday, November 11, 2025.

He said, “The NDLEA is working with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the United Kingdom National Crime Agency to unravel the cartel behind the importation of 1,000 kilogrammes of cocaine recovered from a container at the PTML Terminal of Tincan Island Port in Lagos.

The PTML operators had noticed the consignment in an empty container last weekend and invited port stakeholders, including the NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies for a joint examination. After a field test by the NDLEA confirmed the shipment to be cocaine, the consignment was formally transferred to NDLEA custody for further investigation on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, following collaborative engagements between the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), and the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi.”

Babafemi noted that the cocaine, estimated at over $235m (about N338bn), represents the largest single seizure of the substance at the Tincan Port.

Marwa said international partners were invited due to the scale of the discovery and the suspected global network of the cartel.

Officers of the US DEA and UK NCA have since joined the probe.

The statement added, “As a result of the large quantity of the recovered Class A drug, which is worth over $235m (over N338bn) on 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.”

On Sunday, the NDLEA announced the arrest of several suspects linked to drug-related offences, including a wanted drug baron, Yussuf Azeez, who was apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

The 40-year-old suspect was intercepted on Thursday, November 6, 2025, while attempting to board a flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.

In the past 30 months, the agency, according to its Chief Executive Officer, Marwa, has seized 8.5 million kilogrammes of drugs, arrested at least 45,853 suspects, and secured 9,263 convictions