The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS has intercepted 16 containers laden with arms, ammunition, illicit drugs, and other prohibited items at the Apapa Command, Lagos, in a major anti-smuggling operation.
Speaking during the handover of the seized goods, Comptroller General of Customs, Alhaji Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, said the operation underscores the Service’s resolve to block Nigeria’s borders against harmful imports and protect public safety.
According to him, the intercepted containers held expired pharmaceuticals, prohibited medicaments, cannabis products, frozen poultry, used clothes, unregistered toothpaste, and other contraband with a Duty Paid Value of ₦10.27 billion.
Among the seizures were a 40-foot container with 101kg of Canadian “Loud” cannabis, two pump action rifles, a pistol, ammunition, and accessories concealed and falsely declared as vehicles.
Two suspects, identified as Mr. Modi Azuka and Mrs. Lisa Akpedeme, were arrested in connection with the arms and drugs and are undergoing interrogation.
Other seizures included: three containers of expired margarine; two containers of used clothing; two containers carrying 2,401 cartons of codeine syrup; 1,290 sacks each in two containers of frozen chicken breast and 305 cartons of unregistered toothpaste and other concealed goods.
The Comptroller General noted that some of the suspects will be handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA and the Department of State Services, DSS for prosecution, while others will be transferred to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC.
“Criminal elements determined to make our country a hub for destructive substances will always have our operatives to contend with,” Adeniyi warned. “We will run them out of business and into jail.”
He stressed that the seizures were made possible through intelligence gathering, inter-agency cooperation, and the vigilance of Customs officers, adding that the NCS will continue to deliver uncompromising enforcement at all entry points.
