Reuters
Nigerian authorities seized a record 1.8 tons of cocaine from a warehouse in Lagos in September 2022. The drugs had carried a street value of $278.5 million.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said the drugs, found in a warehouse on a residential estate, were destined for buyers in Europe and Asia. Authorities arrested four Nigerians and one Jamaican national.
West Africa is a major transit hub for cocaine made in Latin America and sold in Europe. In April 2022, police in Côte d’Ivoire seized more than 2 tons of cocaine, while authorities in the island archipelago of Cabo Verde seized 9.5 tons of cocaine in 2019.
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said that global cocaine seizures reached a record 1,424 tons in 2020.
The Nigerian agency said those arrested were part of an international drug ring that it had been tracking since 2018 in coordination with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Chairman Brig Gen. Mohamed Marwa said the bust “is a message” to drug cartels. “Their investment in the illicit drug trade will go up in flames as you are about to witness while they also risk losing their freedom because the present NDLEA is committed to arresting, prosecuting and ensuring the conviction of those involved in illicit drugs,” Marwa said in a statement.
He called on Nigerian citizens to help put pressure on those who traffic narcotics. “Every citizen shall be fulfilling his or her civic duty by assisting the agency to clean up our communities and cities,” he said. “Together, we can make this country secure.”