The drugs found in a container at a port in Lagos is one of the largest drug seizures in Nigeria's history.

Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said Tuesday it is working with its US and British counterparts to investigate the origins of one of the country's largest drug hauls.

Authorities recovered a ton of cocaine from a container at Lagos' Tincan Island Port.

The shipment, worth more than 338 billion naira ($235 million, €232 million), was discovered during a joint inspection last weekend.

Officials described it as the largest single seizure of cocaine at Tincan Island Port.

Global investigation to find drug smugglers 

NDLEA says officers from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) "have already joined the ongoing investigation to track the cartel behind the consignment."

"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," Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, the NDLEA chairman, said.

Nigeria is a major transit hub for drugs in West Africa and is also becoming a key producer, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko

Louis Oelofse  with AP, Reuters