The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says it has removed 2,145kg of cannabis from a fuel tanker intercepted on Friday, September 4, in Ondo State, a seizure the agency links to a broader sweep across nine states. NDLEA reported officers chased a 20,000‑litre tanker, registration MKA 960 XC, along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway after its driver ignored orders to stop. The agency says the driver abandoned the vehicle at a church compound in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush, leaving operatives to inspect the vehicle.
NDLEA said its search revealed a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis with a combined weight of 2,145kg. The agency also reported that the tanker carried legitimate fuel destined for Jos, Plateau State, meaning the vehicle was allegedly transporting both commercial cargo and a hidden consignment at the same time. Those details form the core of the agency’s account of how the drugs were concealed and recovered.
Axis Signal obtained video from the scene that shows a large tanker bearing NNPC markings stationary with numerous wrapped packages laid out beside it. The footage documents the vehicle and the scale of material displayed after the operation, and it is consistent with the basic elements the NDLEA described. The clip, however, does not capture the reported attempt to stop the tanker, the pursuit, the driver abandoning the vehicle or operatives opening the alleged false compartment.
Crucial measurements and identifications – the weight of 2,145kg and the classification of the seized material as cannabis – are reported by NDLEA and are not independently demonstrated in the available footage. Axis Signal’s visual material therefore provides one layer of evidence showing the aftermath, while the agency’s narrative supplies the sequence of events and the internal discovery. Together they outline what was recovered and how the agency says it happened, but gaps remain between what can be independently observed and what the NDLEA reports.
The episode highlights the agency’s claim that commercial vehicles are being used to hide illicit consignments and places emphasis on the investigative steps that will follow, including forensic testing and custody tracking. For this incident, the NDLEA frames the interception as part of a wider enforcement push across nine states, a context the agency says underscores the scale of its anti‑narcotics operations.
