5-year port drug seizures hit N3tn – Report

About 2,553,132.90 kilograms of illicit medication have been confiscated at Nigerian seaports between 2021 and 2025, knowledge from the Nationwide Drug Legislation Enforcement Company has proven. Findings point out that these illicit medication have been valued at over N3tn.

In keeping with the newest NDLEA statistics, the seizures, which have been recorded throughout main seaports and marine instructions nationwide, spotlight each the dimensions of drug trafficking by means of Nigeria’s maritime gateways and the depth of enforcement operations over 5 years.

The info reveals that the whole seizure, which stood at 96,690.90 kg in 2021, dropped sharply to twenty,296.70 kg in 2022 and rose once more to 86,169.54 kg in 2023. In keeping with the information, the figures, nonetheless, surged dramatically in 2024 to an all-time excessive of 1,745,422.75 kg earlier than settling at 605,553.01 kg in 2025.

“A port-by-port breakdown reveals that Apapa Port recorded seizures of 33,540 kg in 2021, 17,759.74 kg in 2022, 85,491.59 kg in 2023, 54,116.17 kg in 2024, and 153,028.19 kg in 2025.

At Tin Can Island Port, seizures rose from 22,725.60 kg in 2021 to 1,881.80 kg in 2022 and 654.40 kg in 2023, earlier than exploding to 454,586.54 kg in 2024.

The command recorded 30,815.21 kg in 2025,” the information acknowledged.

The info confused that the Port Harcourt Seaport Command posted a few of the most dramatic figures, transferring from 40,425.30 kg in 2021 and 143.83 kg in 2022 to 23.55 kg in 2023 earlier than an enormous spike to 1,227,595.42 kg in 2024 and 410,553.61 kg in 2025.

Marine operations additionally intensified, with the Marine Command recording 9,121.49 kg in 2024 and 11,156 kg in 2025, reflecting expanded surveillance of coastal and inland waterways.

Commenting on the information, the Director of Media and Advocacy at NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, mentioned the numbers show sustained, intelligence-led interdiction operations throughout Nigeria’s seaports.

Babafemi famous that the company is working to dismantle maritime drug trafficking routes by means of improved intelligence gathering, danger profiling, container monitoring, and stronger collaboration with sister safety businesses on the ports.

He defined that traffickers more and more goal seaports for bulk shipments, exploiting concealment in containerised cargo and vessel actions, however confused that NDLEA operations have considerably raised the fee and danger of doing enterprise for drug syndicates working by means of Nigeria’s maritime area.

Additional checks by our correspondent confirmed that the over 2.55 million kilogrammes of illicit medication seized inside the interval translate into road values operating into trillions of naira. For example, NDLEA valuation benchmarks present that one kilogramme of cocaine is valued at between N800m and N1bn, whereas methamphetamine sells for between N400m and N600m per kilogramme.

Though hashish sativa, tramadol, codeine, and different managed pharmaceutical opioids entice decrease unit costs, their large volumes considerably drive up the cumulative worth. Primarily based on conservative estimates, the whole seizures made on the seaports between 2021 and 2025 are valued at properly over N3 trillion, representing one of many heaviest monetary blows ever inflicted on drug trafficking networks working in and thru Nigeria.

Babafemi famous that the information not solely exposes the dimensions of tried drug influx by means of the nation’s ports but additionally underscores the strategic significance of maritime interdiction in Nigeria’s broader anti-drug marketing campaign.

He added that the sharp spike recorded in 2024 and sustained excessive interceptions in 2025 recommend traffickers are being compelled into riskier operations, typically leading to catastrophic losses as a consequence of tighter port controls and improved intelligence coordination. He defined that the NDLEA has reiterated that Nigeria’s seaports will stay hostile territory for drug traffickers, whatever the quantity, worth, or sophistication of their operations.