₦10 Billion Haul: Customs intercepts firearms, drugs, contraband at Lagos port
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has made a significant bust at the Lagos Port Complex (LPC), seizing 16 containers filled with prohibited items, including firearms, ammunition, military gear, and counterfeit drugs. The total value of the seized goods is estimated to be ₦10 billion.
Comptroller General Adewale Adeniyi confirmed the seizures, highlighting several key finds. One 40-foot container (MRSU6407089), consigned to Babatunde Ogidiolu of a Lagos address, was initially cleared as clean.
However, a secondary search by a joint security team uncovered two pump-action rifles, 25 cartridges of ammunition, one Smith & Wesson pistol with 55 rounds of ammunition, and 202 cans of Colorado Loud, a Canadian strain of cannabis. Each can of the cannabis weighed 500 grams, totaling 101 kilograms.
Adeniyi detailed the other seizures, which included:
Seven containers of expired and prohibited medicaments.
Three containers of expired food items, specifically margarine.
Three containers of absolutely prohibited used clothing.
Two 40-foot containers (OERU4243517 and FBIU5507953) containing a total of 2,580 sacks of frozen poultry products.
One container (ZZSU7277511) with 305 cartons of toothpaste that infringed on the intellectual property rights of a Nigerian company and lacked NAFDAC registration.
Two containers of expired chest and lung tablets without NAFDAC registration.
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Two 40-foot containers of codeine, which the NCS had been tracking and believes are linked to the owners of previous seizures.
Adeniyi emphasised that the NCS uses “tools, technology, and intelligence” to balance its various mandates, ensuring that all prohibited items are intercepted effectively.
He concluded that the results of the past two years “have justified the fact that we are doing our best in striking a healthy balance.”
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