Arms, ammunition worth billions seized at Apapa Port
By Ologeh Joseph Chibu
Arms and ammunition worth billions of Naira have been seized at the Lagos Apapa Port.
There are deep concerns about the motive behind the importation and what the arms are meant for in a country plagued with terrorism and armed insurgency.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) intercepted the 16 containers with prohibited items, including arms and ammunition.
Other items concealed are expired pharmaceuticals, frozen poultry, and counterfeit products.
The estimated duty paid value exceeded ₦10 billion.
Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Monday while presenting the seized items to journalists at the Apapa Command.
“Today, it gives me pleasure to announce the seizure of 16 containers of goods whose importation violates our laws and threatens our collective peace and security. The duty paid value of all these seizures is more than N10bn,” Adeniyi said.
Providing details, Adeniyi explained that intelligence led to the joint examination of a 40-foot container, registration number MRSU6407089, by NCS officers and operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Initially declared clean, a secondary search uncovered 202 cans of “Colorado loud,” a potent strain of Canadian cannabis, weighing a total of 101 kilograms.
“Each of the cans weighs 500 grams, and the total seizure involved is 101 kilograms. However, the intel available to us suggests that it is not only about drugs inside the container. Acting on this advice, the CAC was directed to deploy scanners and subject these containers to scanning. And when this was done, arms and ammunition were discovered inside the container. Two pump-action rifles and 25 cartridges of ammunition were discovered. Also discovered was one Smith & Wesson pistol with 55 rounds of ammunition, one blank, and several accessories,” he added.
Other contraband seized included seven containers of expired drugs and prohibited medications, three containers of expired margarine, and three containers of banned used clothing.
Over the weekend, NCS operatives also seized a 40-foot container loaded with 1,290 sacks of frozen poultry products. Another 40-foot container, marked FBIU5507953, contained an identical consignment of frozen chicken.
“Another interesting seizure has to do with an importation that has infringed intellectual property rights,” Adeniyi stated, revealing that one container concealed 305 cartons of counterfeit toothpaste hidden among beads and a Jalabiya dress. The products were unregistered with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and violated the rights of a Nigerian brand owner. Two additional containers of expired chest and lung tablets, also without NAFDAC registration numbers, were impounded.
The CGC further disclosed that the service intercepted two 40-foot containers carrying codeine syrup. “These two containers have also been seized. And the information that we had on these containers is linking the owners to those of the previous ones that we have made,” he said, adding that investigators are establishing connections between the importers of the various contraband shipments.
Adeniyi confirmed that five suspects have been arrested in connection with the seizures. “A total of five arrests have been made. Out of the five, three have been charged, and they have appeared in court. And they are presently remanded in Ikoyi Prisons pending the hearing of the substantive case sometime next month,” he stated.
He pledged that the Customs Service will continue collaborating with local and international agencies to dismantle smuggling networks. “We will work with both local and international partners and customs administrations all over the world, using the instrument of customs-to-customs cooperation to identify those who are behind these operations. And ensure that Nigeria does not become a dumping ground for them,” Adeniyi concluded.
