The Nigeria Customs Service says 13 containers containing cannabis, codeine syrup, security-sensitive equipment and expired products have been intercepted at the Apapa Area Command, with a combined duty-paid value of ₦43.58bn.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this while briefing journalists during the display of the seized consignments at the command.
According to Adeniyi, the intercepted goods fall into three broad categories: narcotics and controlled pharmaceuticals, security-sensitive equipment, and expired products meant for human consumption.
“The total duty-paid value of the seizures is N43.58bn,” Adeniyi said.
Among the major seizures was a 40-foot container, registered as HAMU 3086682, which contained 4,777 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 2,388.5 kilogrammes.
The cannabis was concealed in two cartons, 48 jumbo bags and 40 drums. Customs also found assorted automobile spare parts, a carton of coffee mix, eight cartons of oats and three vehicles in the same container.
Another 40-foot container, FANU 1933352, was found carrying 8,287 parcels of cannabis sativa with a combined weight of 4,145 kilogrammes. The consignment was packed in 162 bags and accompanied by three vehicles.
A third container, a 20-foot unit identified as MSKU 3941778, contained 2,181 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 1,090.5 kilogrammes.
Customs officials also recovered 148 bags of foreign parboiled rice, assorted automobile spare parts, two boxes of lithium batteries, a carton of PV combiner boxes, 19 cartons of turmeric, 33 cartons of mangala fish and 11 cartons of butterfly fish from the container.
Another major interception involved a 40-foot container, TCKU 7653306, in which 1,700 cartons containing 169,998 bottles of codeine syrup were allegedly concealed beneath household items.
Adeniyi said the three containers carrying cannabis contained a combined 15,245 parcels weighing 7,624 kilogrammes.
The command also intercepted security-sensitive equipment, including 108 high-definition dual-camera drones found in two cartons inside container MSKU 9282528.
The drones were extracted from the container for further investigation.
“Drones have lawful uses, and the service has no quarrel with them. But equipment of this kind, in the wrong hands, becomes a means of surveillance, of reconnaissance and of delivery, and our security agencies have already met it in that role in the field,” he stressed.
Customs further reported the interception of two containers carrying used clothing. Container MRKU 6185100 contained 425 bales, while another container, SEKU 4685299, had 422 bales, bringing the total number of used-clothing bales recovered to 1,282.
Five additional containers were intercepted with expired products, including tomato ketchup, antiseptic liquid, vaginal tablets and disposable nappies.
The Customs chief described the interception of the narcotics as a significant outcome of collaboration among security agencies, particularly the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, with intelligence support from international security partners.
He also raised concern over the continued abuse of prohibited substances such as codeine among young Nigerians, saying its links to violent behaviour, family disintegration and the loss of productive lives had remained a national concern.
According to him, the quantity of narcotics recovered from even one of the containers could have sustained the illicit trade for a considerable period.
Adeniyi said the Customs Service would continue to subject security-sensitive consignments to scrutiny, particularly where importers fail to provide the required documentation.
He warned that the nation’s ports must not become channels for equipment that could threaten national security.
“Our ports will not be a route through which capability reaches those who are working against the security of this country,” Adeniyi warned.
He added that the seized consignments would be transferred to the appropriate narcotics agencies for further investigation and necessary action.
