The Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS, Beecroft has seized roughly 1.9 tonnes of hashish in separate operations and arrested 25 stowaways discovered aboard industrial vessels inside its space of duty in Lagos and surrounding waters.
The commander of NNS Beecroft, Commodore Adams Aliu disclosed this on Wednesday throughout a maritime stakeholders’ assembly on the officers’ mess of the Western Naval Command in Apapa, Lagos. Participants on the assembly referred to as for better cooperation to deal with safety threats affecting maritime operations and surrounding communities.
Aliu mentioned the seizures and arrests shaped half of the navy’s efforts to curb drug trafficking, smuggling, unlawful bunkering and different legal actions in the maritime setting.
He described the safety state of affairs in the world as usually calm however careworn the necessity for steady surveillance and stronger collaboration amongst safety companies, maritime operators, authorities authorities and host communities.
Providing particulars of the operations, Aliu mentioned naval personnel recovered 5 luggage of hashish weighing 480 kilogrammes round Abule Odo, Lagos, on February 18, 2026. Other illicit substances, together with hashish, tramadol and codeine, have been additionally seized at Idi Araba, Apapa.
He added that two luggage of hashish weighing 192 kilogrammes have been intercepted at Ikare Island on April 28, whereas 11 luggage weighing 756 kilogrammes have been recovered at Wiliki Post, off Alpha Beach, on July 22.
The seized substances have been subsequently handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, for additional investigation.
The naval commander additionally revealed that 25 stowaways have been arrested aboard industrial vessels at numerous areas, together with Lagos (*25*), Lekki Dangote Terminal and Takwa Bay. They have been later transferred to the Nigeria Immigration Service for additional motion.
Aliu mentioned different suspects apprehended in the course of the operations had been handed over to related safety companies, together with the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army, Department of State Services and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
He famous that maritime offences steadily have hyperlinks to actions on land, making the involvement of host communities important to stopping and addressing safety threats.
The commander urged stakeholders to develop reliable channels for reporting suspicious actions and rising threats. He additionally referred to as for the appointment of designated safety officers, higher communication and a coordinated system for reporting incidents.
The chairman of Apapa Local Government Area, Senbajo Idowu Abike, raised issues about drug trafficking, baby abuse, human trafficking and the growing involvement of younger individuals in road gangs.
While acknowledging that safety had improved in contrast with earlier years, Abike warned that legal actions remained a menace to residents, notably schoolchildren.
