The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) announced on Tuesday the seizure of one tonne of cocaine, valued at over $20 million, discovered inside an empty shipping container at a port in Lagos.

The seizure, one of the largest in recent memory, was made at the Port and Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) Command. Customs Area Controller Joe Sanni detailed the find for reporters, stating the drugs have a duty-paid value of ₦29.4 billion ($20,463,020).

According to Sanni, the discovery was triggered by an alert from the PTML terminal operator during a routine disinfection exercise. The operator identified suspicious packages within a 20-foot container that had arrived empty from Freetown, Sierra Leone. The container was part of a batch of 39 empties intended for future export loading.

“The terminal operator alerted the command immediately, and a joint examination was conducted alongside officers of the NDLEA, Department of State Services (DSS), Police Anti-Bomb Squad, and other agencies,” Sanni said.

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The examination uncovered 50 large packages, each containing 20 parcels of a white substance. Rapid testing confirmed the substance to be cocaine, with a total weight of 1,000 kilograms.

Sanni emphasized the unusual nature of the seizure, noting that the container did not officially arrive in Nigeria as an import and had no consignee linked to it.

“This is one of the most mysterious cocaine interceptions in the Service’s history,” he stated, adding that no arrests have been made in connection with the container.

The Customs chief praised the terminal operator’s vigilance and the collaborative effort of the security agencies involved. He reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to safeguarding Nigerian ports and ensuring PTML remains a “no-go area” for illicit trade.

The seized narcotics will be handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation and prosecution, Sanni confirmed.