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Nigerian seaports have seen a massive surge in multi-billion-naira hard drug interceptions in recent times.
International drug cartels from the Americas, Europe and Asia are increasingly utilising highly sophisticated concealment tactics to sneak cocaine, synthetic cannabis and opioids through major maritime gateways.
In the first half of 2026 alone, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted 109,306.75 kilograms, equivalent to 109.3 tonnes, of illicit drugs with an estimated street value of over N45 billion across the nation’s seaports.
This menace highlights the increasing use of the nation’s maritime gateways by international drug trafficking syndicates.
The influx of shipments of these dangerous drugs has become an issue of concern for the stakeholders operating at the ports, as it may give Nigeria a bad image before the international community.
This is also a deliberate attempt by criminal elements to jeopardise national security, endanger lives, and profit from the destruction of our hardworking young men and women.
However, the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre bemoaned the large volumes of illicit narcotics being intercepted at the nation’s seaports.
Findings based on official first-quarter statistics obtained from the NDLEA and verified second-quarter seizure records released by the agency showed that the anti-narcotics agency maintained sustained pressure on drug cartels operating through the country’s seaports, particularly Apapa, Tincan Island and Port Harcourt ports.
Findings by Daily Sun indicated that 98,354.75 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs were intercepted between January and March, while another 10,952 kilograms were seized through separate intelligence-led operations between April and June, bringing the total seizures for the first six months of the year to 109,306.75 kilograms.
Although the NDLEA did not publish an official cumulative street value for the half-year seizures, the intercepted consignments are worth well above N45bn, making the first half of 2026 one of the most successful periods in the agency’s maritime enforcement operations in recent years.
A breakdown of the figures showed that Apapa Port remained Nigeria’s biggest drug interception point, accounting for 71,181.45 kilograms of illicit drugs during the first quarter alone. When the verified second-quarter seizures of 1,819.5 kilograms and 4,959 kilograms recorded at the port are added, the cumulative seizures at Apapa rise to 77,959.95 kilograms, representing more than 71 per cent of the total quantity intercepted during the period under review.
The Port Harcourt Seaport Command followed with 25,635 kilograms, while Tincan Island Port recorded 1,538.30 kilograms during the first quarter and an additional 4,173.5 kilograms in May, bringing its cumulative seizures for the six months to 5,711.8 kilograms.
This is even as NDLEA on Monday destroyed 329,865.585 kilogrammes of assorted illicit drugs valued at N301.058 billion in Lagos. The drugs include cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis, Canadian Loud, skunk, ephedrine, tramadol, codeine syrup, other opioids and khat leaves.
Stakeholders who spoke with Daily Sun said that the use of dangerous drugs, especially among the youth, is fueling all manner of crimes and criminality in the country.
Speaking on the issue, Head of Research, Eugene Nweke, stressed that while these remarkable interceptions reflect improved intelligence gathering, enhanced inter-agency collaboration, and growing operational efficiency, they also expose an unsettling reality.
According to him, transnational organised crime syndicates are increasingly exploiting maritime trade routes and containerised cargo to traffic illicit drugs through Nigerian ports.
He warned that beyond the criminal dimension, “persistent attempts to use Nigerian ports as transit corridors for narcotics could undermine the country’s international trade reputation, attract stricter destination-country inspections, increase cargo clearance delays, discourage investment, and elevate Nigeria’s global maritime risk profile.”
He added that drug trafficking through maritime channels also fuels money laundering, organised crime, corruption, insecurity and other illicit financial activities that threaten national economic stability.
He therefore calls for a transition from seizure-based enforcement to intelligence-led prevention through the deployment of artificial intelligence-driven cargo profiling, wider installation of non-intrusive cargo scanners, strengthened container tracking systems, deeper collaboration among the NCS, the NDLEA, Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and other security agencies, and the full integration of the National Single Window to enhance information sharing and risk management.
“Nigeria’s ports must remain gateways for legitimate international commerce, not safe havens for transnational criminal enterprises,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gbenga Leke Oyewole, a seasoned maritime security expert and former Senior Special Assistant on Maritime Services to ex-President Goodluck, said that the statistics given, N40 billion worth of illicit drugs in six months, are probably the tip of the iceberg because they were arrested in the port.
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“But I can equally tell you that the vessels or anybody importing it, maybe those, they disguised it and they felt that they would be lucky to escape the Customs at the port. That’s why they did that. Unfortunately, they caught them. You will agree with me that not all of them would have been caught,” he added.
He said that the serious traders of these drugs and dangerous substances may not likely get to the port when looking at the nation’s water space, and the nation’s maritime domain is completely open.
“So, if somebody brings in such from overseas, from a big vessel, and admit his arraignment properly, while waiting at the anchorage or even before getting to the anchorage, what if he takes it to a smaller boat that will enter the country from VI, Lekki, Ogun State, Ondo State, Edo, Delta, or Bayelsa states, you know, all across the littoral states, they will never be caught.
“And the level of criminality in the country is increasing by the day. I recall properly that, was it 2013 or 2014, when a bomb exploded in Abuja, it was difficult to believe that a Nigerian would be involved, because we believe that Nigerians are too happy people to carry out suicide bombing, or to be involved in detonating bombs or something.
“But today, it has become a regular part of our lives, and we think, well, Nigerians do it. Anybody in his right mind would not do it. It is people who have taken all these substances that have made the effort; they have seen another thing, and they have not even seen anything nearby again. They have seen another world.
“And somebody already indoctrinated them with 70 virgins somewhere. If those virgins were somebody’s problem, how many girls are on the streets in the night? If women are the problem. So these substances have entered into the fabric of the nation and into the psyche of the youth so badly. A lot of them come in that we don’t know,” he explained.
According to him, the best way to tackle or stop this trend is to improve surveillance of the nation’s maritime space.
He said he doesn’t know if NIMASA or NPA can boastfully say that all jetties, ports, and terminals in Nigeria are 100 per cent covered, adding that if those two agencies say yes, can people say the same thing of the Customs to cover all ports, jetties and terminals in Nigeria?
“You’ll soon begin to hear of Customs ports and non-Customs ports. The people that will bring in these things would not go through Customs ports if, let us assume that Customs would do 100 per cent rummaging of the vessels that approach our ports, terminals and jetties.
“They will not go to any of those zones where we have ports and where we have customs. And Customs are the agency that is saddled with that responsibility of rummaging vessels. And when they have transported it into a smaller boat that will come in through a non-customs port, how is it going to be caught?” he added.
He said that there should be covert operations by the Customs that will also cover almost all ports and jetties in Nigeria, where they can at random ask people what is coming in.
“And again, look at a situation where the petroleum vessels, vessels carrying petroleum products. As of today, I don’t think Customs collect anything on fuel or PMS or AGO or kerosene entering the country. They don’t. And because they don’t, their interest in rummaging them is also limited,” he pointed out.
According to him, a vessel that is bringing in any of those products has enough void space on board that can take cocaine that can feed the whole Nigeria, adding that beyond regulatory responsibility or revenue generation activity of the Customs, there must be a way to also have at the back of their minds that substances enter this country and it must be stopped.
“So that should propel them to go on board petroleum vessels, that’s tankers, even flying boats that come to our ports, jetties, and terminals. We must change our operational strategy from looking for money or setting targets that must be met, you know, to bringing in N1 trillion or N2 trillion, to also looking at what are the, what was the security impact is of what comes into the country. So that’s another thing I think the government must do.
“I’ve said two things now. One is to cover all ports, terminals, and jetties. Two is to effectively rummage and come up with strategies to, you know, maybe some covert operations to make sure that they know, at least they can know completely, let them know to a good, to a large extent, what is coming into the country or what is leaving the country.
“Then at the ports, I give it to them: by vigilance they have been able to, in six months, arrest or unveil substances worth almost N40 billion naira. That is no small operation that they have done. We should give it to them. They’ve done well. But then that means if they’ve caught 40 billion, maybe 80 billion has escaped. So they need to do more. There is a need to improve surveillance and regulatory, expanded regulatory functions of all the agencies will help Nigeria a lot to stop the infiltration of dangerous substances into the country,” he added.
Speaking at the destruction exercise of the N301.058 billion worth of illicit drugs in Lagos, the NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), described it as “a bold demonstration of Nigeria’s resolve to protect its people and deny criminal enterprises the resources they need to thrive.”
Marwa said the drugs represented more than contraband, noting that behind every kilogramme destroyed was a potential threat to a young person, family and community.
He said illicit drugs weaken the labour force, increase healthcare costs, discourage investment and drain public resources that should be channelled into education, healthcare and infrastructure.
According to him, every consignment intercepted by the agency saves the country billions of naira in potential losses associated with addiction, crime and social dislocation.
Marwa also linked illicit drug trafficking to Nigeria’s broader security challenges, saying the trade helps fund organised crime, terrorism and violent extremism globally.
