The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a fuel tanker that was being used to smuggle a large quantity of cannabis across Nigeria.
On Friday, September 4, 2026, NDLEA operatives flagged down a 20,000-litre fuel tanker along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway in Ondo State. The tanker, marked MKA 960 XC and painted in the familiar colours of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, was carrying what appeared to be a legitimate load of fuel headed for Jos in Plateau State.
When officers signalled the driver to stop, he refused and sped off. The chase continued until the driver abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and ran into the surrounding bush.
Officers immediately searched the tanker. Behind a specially built false compartment at the rear, they discovered 165 bags of cannabis weighing a total of 2,145 kilogrammes. The drugs had been carefully hidden alongside the real fuel cargo so the tanker would look ordinary and pass through checkpoints without raising suspicion.
According to the NDLEA, this particular tanker had become known for dodging previous interception attempts. Its capture is therefore seen as a notable success in the agency’s ongoing efforts to disrupt drug trafficking routes that rely on commercial vehicles.
The seizure forms part of a wider series of operations carried out by the agency across several states in the same week. While other arrests and recoveries of tramadol, methamphetamine and other substances were also recorded, the discovery of more than two tonnes of cannabis inside a fuel tanker has drawn particular public attention because of the scale and the clever concealment method used.
The NDLEA continues to investigate the incident and is working to identify everyone involved in the operation.
