Army intercepts drug truck on Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road
Troops of the Nigerian Army’s 65 Battalion intercepted a truck carrying a large consignment of illicit drugs along the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road.
Troops of the Nigerian Army’s 65 Battalion have intercepted a truck conveying a large consignment of illicit drugs along the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, leading to the arrest of the vehicle’s driver. The development was disclosed on Sunday by the Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 81 Division Nigerian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Musa Yahaya.
According to the Army, the intelligence-led operation was carried out on Wednesday, 9 July, after troops acted on credible information, resulting in the interception of the truck transporting the illicit consignment and the arrest of the driver. Preliminary investigations indicated that the illicit drugs were being transported to the Berger area of Lagos State, but the arrested driver was unable to provide satisfactory information about either the owner of the consignment or its intended recipient.
“Initial investigations showed the drugs were being conveyed to the Berger area of Lagos, but the suspect could not satisfactorily identify the owner or intended recipient of the consignment,” the Army said. Both the suspect and the recovered drugs have been transferred to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Lagos State Command, for further investigation and prosecution.
The General Officer Commanding 81 Division, Major General Adebayo Babalola, commended the troops for their professionalism and vigilance, urging them to sustain the momentum against drug traffickers and other criminal elements operating within the division’s area of responsibility.
The interception comes shortly after the NDLEA announced the arrest of two suspected international drug traffickers, including a 38-year-old South African woman apprehended at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, with 5.75 kilograms of heroin. In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, operatives arrested a 48-year-old commercial motorcycle rider who arrived from Madagascar with methamphetamine concealed in his luggage and body.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, still under construction, has become a route for illicit activities. The interception is a reminder that Nigeria’s infrastructure projects, while essential, can also become conduits for crime if not properly secured. The Army’s success is commendable. The underlying problem, the scale of drug trafficking in Nigeria, remains unresolved.
The winners: the Nigerian Army and the NDLEA, which have made another seizure. The losers: the drug traffickers, who have lost a consignment, and the Nigerian public, which continues to suffer the consequences of the drug trade.
Bottom Line: A drug-laden truck was intercepted on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road. The driver could not name the owner. That is not a failure of intelligence. That is a failure of the chain of command.