The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has destroyed more than 329,000 kilogrammes of illicit drugs valued at an estimated N301.058 billion and says it will intensify efforts to dismantle the financial networks behind drug trafficking.
The court ordered destruction took place in Lagos and covered substances seized in concluded, uncontested or abandoned cases.
The drugs included cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis varieties, ephedrine, tramadol, codeine syrup and other opioids.
NDLEA said about 246,864 kilogrammes came from the Lagos Strategic Command, while more than 83,000 kilogrammes were seized by commands operating around the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Tincan, Apapa, marine routes and special operations.
Chairman Buba Marwa said the agency wanted drug traffickers to understand that enforcement would extend beyond confiscating consignments.
He said investigators would increasingly target financiers, criminal proceeds and networks that make large scale trafficking possible.
Marwa linked the illicit drug economy to addiction, violent crime, family breakdown and impaired driving.
He also said drug trafficking created wider economic costs by weakening productivity, increasing pressure on healthcare and diverting public resources.
The NDLEA chairman further argued that drug proceeds could support organised crime, kidnapping, banditry, insurgency and terrorism.
Lagos State Government representatives said the scale of the destruction illustrated the seriousness of the drug problem and the importance of cooperation between enforcement agencies and the judiciary.
Customs Comptroller General Bashir Adeniyi said coordinated seizures at airports, seaports and land borders were depriving criminal networks of both narcotics and financial resources.
The Nigerian Navy also pledged continued support for drug control operations.
NDLEA said the destruction exercise formed part of a broader strategy combining supply reduction, financial disruption, prosecution and public education. The agency said the next phase of its campaign would focus more aggressively on dismantling cartels rather than merely intercepting individual consignments
