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.
A statement by the NDLEA Director, Media Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, said on Tuesday in Abuja that the drugs were recovered from a container at the PTML Terminal of Tincan Island Port in Lagos.
Babafemi said that 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, Nov. 11.
This, he said, followed collaborative engagements between the NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig.-Gen Buba Marwa and the Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Dr 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, Nov. 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.
Marwa said that the essence of collaborating with the international partners on the case was to ensure no stone was left unturned and every gap was sufficiently covered.
This, he said, would ultimately get all the masterminds of the huge consignment brought to book wherever they were located across the globe. (NAN)
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