The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Area Command, has intercepted 1.81 tonnes of Cannabis Sativa “Canadian Loud” and large consignments of expired pharmaceuticals worth N12.78 billion in two intelligence-led operations, dealing a major blow to drug traffickers and economic saboteurs.
How the Drug Bust Unfolded
Acting on credible intelligence and advanced risk assessment tools, Customs officers in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, intercepted a 40ft container, CAAU7569127, on Monday, 15 June 2026 at 12:00hrs.
Concealed inside a black Toyota Sienna vehicle, bags, and drums were 3,639 sachets of Cannabis Sativa, each weighing 500 grams. Total weight: approximately 1,819 kilograms or 1.81 tonnes. Field tests confirmed the substance as Cannabis Sativa.
Customs described the concealment as sophisticated, but said the interception proves Apapa Command’s improved capacity to detect and dismantle smuggling networks targeting Nigeria’s maritime borders.
Expired Drugs Also Seized
In a related operation, the Command intercepted two 40ft containers loaded with expired pharmaceutical products marked for relabeling and re-entry into the Nigerian market.
Container PCIU8771576 contained expired Cidoxilin Capsules, Cynamine Vitamin B12 Injection, and Becoline B-Complex Injection.
Container MRKU4961275 held expired Oxytocin Injection, Mexclor Eye Drops, Avomex Tablets, Carbamazepine Tablets, Silymarin Tablets, Nystatin Tablets, and Hyoscine Butylbromide Tablets. Expiry dates ranged from 2021 to 2023.
Physical examination was conducted with key security and regulatory agencies. Customs said the drugs would have posed serious health risks to hospitals, pharmacies, and homes if released.
Scale of the Seizure
The combined Duty Paid Value of the seized drugs and expired medicines is Twelve Billion, Seven Hundred and Eighty-Four Million, Four Hundred and Seventy-Nine Thousand, Three Hundred and Forty-One Naira, Seventy-Two Kobo (₦12,784,479,341.72).
*Customs Speaks*
Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba, warned that smugglers and drug traffickers are “enemies of Nigeria’s progress.”
“We have the intelligence, the technology and the resolve to identify and apprehend them. Anyone still contemplating these criminal acts should immediately desist, because the consequences will be swift, decisive and uncompromising.
Apapa Port will not be used as a conduit for economic sabotage and public health endangerment,” he said.
Comptroller Oshoba added that Apapa Port and all Customs-controlled areas remain under constant surveillance.
He reassured Nigerians that the Command will intensify intelligence-driven operations to protect lives, secure legitimate trade, and uphold national security, in line with the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business agenda.
The seized items remain in custody pending further investigation and prosecution.
The press statement was issued by Isah Sulaiman , Chief Superintendent of Customs the Public Relations Officer, Apapa Area Command , for the Customs Area Controller.
