ONNE PORT, Rivers State, July 1, 2024 — The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted nine containers loaded with contraband items, including arms, ammunition, illicit drugs, and second-hand clothes, with a total duty-paid value of N13.9 billion. Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, made this announcement on Monday while addressing journalists at Onne Port.
Adeniyi revealed that one of the intercepted containers originated from Turkey. Due to multiple risk factors associated with its importation, the container became a subject of intense scrutiny by the Customs Service.
“We have followed its sail across continents and we’ve benefitted immensely from credible information through our collaboration with intelligence communities both at local, national and international levels,” Adeniyi explained.
Upon its arrival on June 21, 2024, the container underwent a thorough physical examination. Inside, customs officials discovered 844 units of assorted rifles and 12,500 pieces of live ammunition, concealed among items such as doors, furniture fittings, and leather bags. The duty-paid value of this container alone was estimated at N4.2 billion.
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Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the seizure after the NCS secured a detention warrant from a competent court.
In addition to the arms and ammunition, Adeniyi reported that customs operatives intercepted eight other containers, each 40 feet in length, transiting from a bonded terminal. These containers were examined on Saturday and found to contain significant quantities of illicit drugs.
“Six of the containers were laden with 1.5 million bottles of cough syrup containing codeine in 100ml sizes and 3.5 million tablets of tramadol,” Adeniyi detailed. The duty-paid value of these containers was N9.6 billion, bringing the total value of the nine intercepted containers to N13.9 billion.
In a separate operation, the Joint Border Patrol Team Sector 2 of the NCS intercepted 1,410 liters of premium motor spirit (PMS) worth N30.4 million within a single week. This was disclosed by the team’s Coordinator, Mohammad Shuaibu, during a press briefing at the Customs Training College in Ikeja, Lagos State, on June 28, 2024.
Source: PunchNG