$235 million worth of cocaine found at port in Nigeria
On November 11, Nigeria’s anti-narcotics enforcement agency stated that they are now working with their U.S and British counterparts to “unravel” a drug cartel, according to Africa news via AP.
One thousand kilograms of cocaine were found at a port in Lagos, Nigeria. The cocaine was found in an empty container, according to the national drug law enforcement agency (NDLEA).
It had been reported that the batch was worth over 338 billion naira ($235 million), making this one of the most significant drug seizures in the country’s history.
In August 2025, drug smuggling resurfaced in the Nigerian desert, particularly in a city called Agadez. Criminal gangs use this territory as their hotspot to shift drugs through the trade routes between West Africa and the Maghreb.
The Sahel is known for smuggling goods, not just drugs, but also people. The primary source of income in Agadez is human smuggling from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe.
The European Union pressured Niger’s government to implement an anti-smuggling law in 2015, which was executed with the deployment of armed forces in the desert who arrested smugglers immediately.
Femi Babafemi, a spokesperson for Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agency, said, “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 November 11, the seizure was fully transferred to the NDLEA after the initial discovery by port operators.
Criminal gangs are often involved in drug smuggling, as they frequently take control of territories to be used as areas through which they can transport illicit substances.
It has been reported that in the last two years, over 10,000 people have been killed by Jihadist terror groups and criminal gangs in central and northern Nigeria.
The hunt is still ongoing for the criminals behind the large shipment. The chairman of NDLEA said in a statement that “the essence of collaborating with our international partners on this case is to ensure no stone is left unturned and every gap is sufficiently covered so that ultimately we can get all the masterminds of this huge consignment brought to book wherever they are located across the globe.”
Africa News Via AP, Maghrebi.org
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