Customs busts massive smuggling operation, seizes contraband worth over N10bn

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted 16 containers loaded with contraband goods, including firearms, expired drugs, prohibited food items, and unregistered products, in a major operation at the Apapa Port in Lagos.

Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, revealed the seizure on Monday while addressing journalists, stating that the containers posed significant threats to national security and public health.

“It gives me great satisfaction to announce the seizure of 16 containers containing goods that violate our importation laws and endanger the peace and safety of the country. The total duty-paid value of these items exceeds N10 billion,” Adeniyi said.

Adeniyi detailed that one of the intercepted containers, a 40-foot unit with registration number MRSU6407089, was initially deemed clean. However, a joint secondary inspection by NCS and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) uncovered 202 cans of Canadian cannabis, known locally as “Colorado Loud,” weighing 101 kilograms.

Further inspection using scanners revealed hidden firearms and ammunition. The cache included two pump-action rifles, a Smith & Wesson pistol with 55 rounds of ammunition, 25 cartridges, one blank round, and several accessories.

Other seizures included seven containers of expired and banned pharmaceutical products, three containers of expired margarine, three containers of banned used clothing and two 40-foot containers of frozen poultry products (1,290 sacks each of frozen chicken)

Adeniyi also reported the seizure of 305 cartons of unregistered and counterfeit toothpaste hidden behind beads and traditional clothing (jalabiyas). The toothpaste infringed on the intellectual property rights of a Nigerian company and lacked registration with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

Additionally, two 40-foot containers containing large quantities of codeine were intercepted. Intelligence reports suggest a connection between the owners of these containers and earlier seizures, pointing to a wider smuggling network.

So far, five individuals have been arrested in connection with the seizures. Three have already been charged and are currently remanded at Ikoyi Correctional Centre, awaiting trial.

Adeniyi emphasized that the NCS will continue collaborating with both domestic and international agencies to dismantle smuggling networks. “We will work with customs administrations globally through customs-to-customs cooperation to ensure Nigeria does not become a dumping ground for dangerous and illegal goods,” he stated.