The Nigerian Army has struck a major blow against drug trafficking in the south-west. Troops of the 65 Battalion intercepted a truck loaded with a large consignment of illicit drugs on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road on July 9. The driver was arrested after failing to explain the origin or destination of the haul.
The operation began at 06:00 hours following actionable intelligence from a verified source. A joint patrol team flagged down the truck near the Lekki-Ajah axis. Soldiers discovered 127 cartons of assorted narcotics concealed beneath a false floor. The haul included 45 kg of methamphetamine, 32 kg of cocaine and 50 kg of cannabis. The estimated street value exceeds ₦1.2 billion.
Preliminary interrogation revealed the drugs were destined for a warehouse in the Berger area of Lagos. The driver, identified as 34-year-old Chukwuma Nwosu, claimed he was hired only two days earlier and given no details about the cargo. He produced a Lagos State driver’s licence but no vehicle documents or waybill. Investigators noted the truck’s registration plates were cloned from a decommissioned vehicle.
The suspect and the seized drugs were handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at 14:30 hours the same day. NDLEA Lagos State Commander, Mrs Folake Adeniran, confirmed receipt and said forensic analysis would begin immediately. She disclosed that the agency had been tracking the syndicate for three months after a tip-off from an informant in the Apapa port.
This interception exposes a critical gap in coastal security. The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road is a 78 km stretch that runs parallel to the Atlantic shoreline. It has only two permanent military checkpoints—one at Lekki Phase 1 and another at Badore. The remaining 60 km are patrolled sporadically by mobile units. Drug traffickers exploit the unmonitored sections to move contraband from fishing trawlers that offload at night in the creeks around Ibeju-Lekki.
A second overlooked angle is the financial infrastructure that sustains these operations. The ₦1.2 billion street value of the seized drugs represents only 30 % of the syndicate’s projected monthly turnover. The remaining 70 % is laundered through a network of Bureau de Change operators in Alaba International Market. NDLEA financial investigators have identified 17 BDCs that routinely exchange large volumes of naira for dollars without filing suspicious transaction reports. None of these operators has been prosecuted in the past two years.
Major General Adebayo Babalola, General Officer Commanding 81 Division, commended the troops for their vigilance. He directed all battalions under his command to increase night patrols and install mobile scanners at temporary checkpoints. The division has also requested additional marine patrol boats to secure the waterways. These measures, however, will require funding that has not yet been approved by the Defence Headquarters.
The Berger area, where the drugs were headed, has become a hotspot for narcotics distribution. Satellite imagery reviewed by investigators shows at least eight warehouses with reinforced steel doors and 24-hour armed guards. These warehouses are located within 500 metres of three public secondary schools. Local residents report that motorcycle dispatch riders collect parcels at dawn and deliver them to nightclubs in Victoria Island and Lekki Phase 1. No arrests have been made at these warehouses in the past 18 months.
