The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has warned parents to pay closer attention to their children’s fondness for cookies and gummies, cautioning that some of these products may contain illicit substances smuggled into Nigeria.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said recent seizures by agency operatives had exposed attempts by criminal elements to disguise prohibited substances as everyday snacks.

“As parents, if your kids and young ones always crave for cookies and gummies, you may have to pay a little more attention. There may be more to it than ordinary cookies and gummies,” Babafemi wrote, alongside images of the seized packages.

The photographs showed colourful pouches of “Cookies Delta 8 Gummies” in flavours including Hawaiian Rain Pineapple Guava and Thai Mango, labelled as vegan and hemp-derived, displayed next to the actual gummy products.

The alert follows a major interception by the Nigeria Customs Service at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos.

Customs officers intercepted two 40-foot containers holding large quantities of cannabis-infused products hidden among legitimate imports such as used vehicles, generators, batteries and fabrics.

The consignment comprised thousands of Delta-8 cannabis pre-roll cookies, packs of cannabis-infused gummies and other cannabis-laced cookies, with a combined estimated street value of about ₦373.8 million.

The seized items were subsequently handed over to the NDLEA for further action.

NDLEA officials described the products, which originated from the United States and were packaged to resemble ordinary vegan snacks with appealing flavours, as an emerging public health threat.

They noted that the attractive packaging could appeal particularly to children, students and young people, heightening the risk of accidental consumption of concentrated cannabis.