Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, Comptroller General of Customs (fourth left) flanked by senior officers, showcasing the seizures made by operatives of the Service during a press briefing in Lagos.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it has intercepted and seized 16 containers laden with contraband.
The Service said the seizures were made up of arms, drugs, expired pharmaceuticals, counterfeit goods, and banned food items, with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N10 billion.
Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this during a press briefing held at the Apapa Premier Port, Lagos on Monday, August 11, 2025.
Adeniyi further disclosed that among the seized goods were containers with the numbers MRSU6407089, OERU4243517, FBIU5507953, ZZSU7277511, with two additional 40-foot containers that arrived just a day before the briefing, found to contain codeine-based products.
According to him, one of the containers, MRSU6407089, was initially declared clean but later found through intelligence and scanning to contain 101 kilograms of Colorado Loud, a synthetic cannabis imported from Canada.
Alongside the narcotics, operatives of NCS also recovered two pump-action rifles, 25 cartridges, a Smith & Wesson pistol, 55 rounds of ammunition, and other arms accessories.
He said that other seizures involved seven containers of expired drugs and unregistered medicaments, three containers of expired food items including margarine, and three containers of banned used clothing.
Containers OERU4243517 and FBIU5507953 were each found carrying 1,290 sacks of frozen poultry, illegally imported into the country. Container ZZSU7277511 was discovered to have 305 cartons of counterfeit toothpaste, concealed under beads and Jalabiya garments, in a clear case of intellectual property infringement and NAFDAC regulation violations.
The two most recent arrivals, also 40-foot containers, were intercepted based on intelligence and are linked to the same smuggling syndicate behind earlier seizures.
The Customs boss disclosed that a total of five arrests were made in connection with the seizures, addi9ng that three suspects have been formally charged and are currently remanded in Ikoyi Prisons, while two others remained on administrative bail pending prosecution.
He also disclosed that the container was consigned to an individual identified as Mr. Babatunde Ogidioglu with a Lagos address and intelligence gathered so far suggests a coordinated operation by transnational smuggling networks and investigations are ongoing to establish culpability and dismantle the criminal syndicates involved.
The CGC also said that these seizures justified the Service’s firm stance on restricting pharmaceutical imports to the ports, rather than allowing their transfer to bonded terminals many of which have failed to meet security and compliance standards.
He reiterated the Service position in increasing its deployment of non-intrusive inspection technologies, especially scanners, and will deepen cooperation with agencies like NAFDAC, NDLEA, and international customs bodies to ensure Nigeria is not turned into a hub for illicit importers.
He said: “Barely three weeks ago, I was here to hand over some seized pharmaceutical products to the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) with a similar exercise carried out in Onne last week.
“These preventive anti- smuggling activities aside being part of our core mandate also strengthen our inter-agency relationship and uphold the signed MoU with NAFDAC and robust synergy with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
“Today, we have seizures of fourteen (16) containers laden with prohibited drugs, expired medicament, expired food, and other items that run foul of our import prohibition guidelines, including arms and ammunition.
“These smuggled items have a harmful effect on the health and wellbeing of unsuspecting Nigerians who would have consumed them in addition to causing insecurity in the country.
“It is important to once again reiterate that the NCS is ever committed to rid Nigeria of illicit and harmful medical importation by breaking their supply chain as we ensure they don’t go beyond our seaports,airports and land borders into our commercial ecosystem.
“Despite our campaigns against these kinds of importation backed with seizures and arrests, the people I call merchants of death have chosen Apapa Port as an entry point for prohibited items. As usual ,they failed to pull through.
We are resolute to confront these people who do not mean well for Nigerians and the economy by ensuring our entry points are not used for their unlawful acts,” the CGC averred.
