LAGOS, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's anti-drug agency on Tuesday set ablaze 1.8 tonnes of cocaine recovered recently from a warehouse in Lagos, the country's economic hub.
Speaking at a ceremony in Lagos, Mohamed Buba Marwa, chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), said the volume of the drug haul, with a street value put at more than 278 million U.S. dollars, speaks volumes about the extent of the nefarious activities of the drug underworld.
According to a statement by the NDLEA on Sept. 19, the agency stormed a hidden warehouse in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, where 1.8 tonnes of cocaine were recovered and five suspects were detained.
The statement described the seizure as "the biggest singular cocaine seizure" in the history of the NDLEA.
Following the historical seizure, an order of the Federal High Court in Lagos was obtained for the public destruction of the consignment, said Marwa.
Marwa said the agency will continue its fight against drug traffickers, adding that 2,904 drug offenders are serving various jail terms since January 2021 while some other cases are ongoing in court.
Drug trafficking and abuses have troubled the most populous African country, with frequent reports of seizures of illicit drugs and arrests of suspects in the country. ■