Nigeria’s Customs Comptroller-General, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, has disclosed a significant seizure of illicit goods at the nation’s ports.
In the first incident, a container from Turkey, marked MAEU165396, was found to house a staggering cache of arms and ammunition. Concealed ingeniously within items like doors, furniture, and plumbing fittings were 844 rifles and 112,500 rounds of live ammunition, valued at N4.17 billion.
Three individuals have been apprehended in connection with this seizure.
In a separate interception on June 29, 2024, another container (TCKU6879285) en route to a bonded warehouse from Onne Port was intercepted.
It contained a massive haul including 1,050,000 bottles of CSC Cough Syrup with Codeine, 3,500,000 tablets of Trodol Benzhexol (5mg), valued at N9.6 billion.
Additionally, two containers held 720 bales of used clothing, with a combined duty-paid value of N144 million. The total duty-paid value of all nine containers seized is estimated at N13.9 billion.
In response to these incidents, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has taken decisive action. Licenses and permits for implicated warehouses, terminals, and their associated Customs Agents have been suspended. Stringent penalties await officers found complicit, while commendation is reserved for those who resisted bribery attempts aimed at releasing the containers.
This operation underscores the NCS’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding the nation’s economy and security.
