Abuja — The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is working with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) to unravel the cartel behind the importation of 1,000 kilogrammes of cocaine recovered from a container at the PTML Terminal of Tincan Island Port in Lagos.

A statement on Tuesday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, said the PTML operators had noticed the consignment in an empty container last weekend and invited port stakeholders including NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies for joint examination.

After field test by NDLEA confirmed the shipment to be cocaine, the consignment was formally transferred to NDLEA custody for further investigation on Tuesday following collaborative engagements between the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) and the Comptroller General of Customs, Dr. Adewale Adeniyi.

Babafemi said as a result of the large quantity of the recovered Class A drug which is worth over $235 million (Over N338 billion) in international market and the global dimension to the cocaine cartel, Marwa directed that the agency's leading international partners be involved in the investigation.

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

He revealed that in a swift response to the agency's request, officers of the US-DEA and UK-NCA have already joined the ongoing investigation of the largest single seizure of cocaine at the Tincan Port Lagos.

Marwa was quoted to have said: "The essence of collaborating with our international partners on this case is to ensure no stone is left unturned and every gap is sufficiently covered so that ultimately, we can get all the masterminds of this huge consignment brought to book wherever they are located across the globe.

"This followed personal excellent engagement between myself and the Customs CG on this case."