Nigeria’s fight against drug trafficking took a dramatic turn this week after the Port and Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) intercepted cocaine worth an estimated ₦29.4 billion concealed in an export-bound empty container.
The discovery, made in Lagos, ranks among the most baffling narcotics seizures in recent memory, not least because the container in question had no identifiable owner or consignee.
Comptroller Joe Anani, who heads the PTML Command, announced the find after a terminal operator reported unusual packages during routine checks on a batch of empty containers imported for export use.
The suspect container, a 20-footer with the number GCNU1332851, had been brought into Nigeria from Freetown, Sierra Leone, and was undergoing a standard disinfection procedure on 7 October 2025 when staff noticed anomalies that triggered concern.
Customs officers quickly moved in, working alongside the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Department of State Services (DSS), the Police Anti-Bomb Squad, and other security teams.
Their joint examination uncovered 50 tightly packed bundles, each containing 20 parcels of cocaine, adding up to a full tonne. Rapid field tests confirmed the substance, placing its duty-paid value at just over ₦29.4 billion — a staggering figure that underscores the scale of the attempted smuggling.
What makes the case even more puzzling is that the container was not tied to any declared importation. It formed part of a batch of empties meant to support the country’s busy export trade, a system often used to ease logistics pressures at major ports.
With no consignee or documented ownership, investigators are treating the haul as an intentional plant within Nigeria’s maritime supply chain — a method traffickers have been known to use in other parts of the world, particularly in Europe and South America, where empty or in-transit containers have occasionally been exploited to slip contraband through port systems.
Anani described the incident as one of the most mysterious in the Service’s history and praised the terminal operator for sounding the alarm. He emphasised that the swift, coordinated response by multiple agencies demonstrated the growing vigilance within Nigeria’s port environment, especially as traffickers increasingly adapt their methods in response to heightened surveillance.
The seizure adds to a growing list of major cocaine busts in West Africa, a region long regarded by international watchdogs as a strategic transit corridor for cartels moving drugs from Latin America to Europe.
Nigerian authorities, in particular, have stepped up efforts in recent years to tighten port security, following repeated attempts to smuggle narcotics through both sea and air routes.
Anani reaffirmed the Command’s determination to keep PTML “a no-go area” for illicit trade and announced that the NDLEA would take custody of the haul for deeper investigation.
The operation, he said, not only reflects the competence of port stakeholders but also strengthens the collective resolve to safeguard Nigeria’s maritime borders at a time when global trafficking networks are becoming increasingly sophisticated.