Speaking to reporters in Apapa on Monday, Comptroller-General of Customs Adewale Adeniyi stated that the agency had seized 16 containers bearing illegal goods, including weapons and expired medications.
While showing journalists the weapons and illegal items that had been seized, Adewale made this declaration. According to the NCS chief, such imports are a violation of the country’s security and existing regulations.
I am pleased to inform today that 16 containers of products whose importation breaches our laws and jeopardizes our common peace and security have been seized,” he added. The total amount of duty paid for all of these seizures exceeds N10 billion.
While providing specifics on the seizure, Adeniyi stated that a combined team from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Customs had inspected a 40-foot container with registration number NRSU6407089.
The package was first deemed “cleaned,” but 202 cans of Colorado loud—that is, Canadian drugs—were hidden within, according to Adeniyi.
He stated, “The total seizure involved is 101 kilograms, and each of the cans weighs 500 grams.” But based on the information we have, it appears that the issue extends beyond the medications in the container.
In response to this recommendation, the CAC was instructed to set up scanners and scan these containers.
Armed forces and ammunition were found within the container when this was completed. Twenty-five ammo cartridges and two pump-action rifles were found. Additionally, a Smith & Wesson handgun containing 55 rounds of ammo, a blank, and many accessories was found, he said.
Read Also: Kate Henshaw Advises Women to Wear Supportive Bras Following Ibom Air Incident
There have also been three containers of expired food products, especially margarine, three containers of completely prohibited worn garments, and seven containers of expired pharmaceuticals and prohibited medications, he said.
A 40-foot container was confiscated as part of an operation the service had undertook over the weekend, the CGC noted. Furthermore, 1,290 sacks of frozen poultry goods were inside. The 40-foot container FBIU5507953 also included 1,290 bags of frozen chicken. An additional intriguing seizure concerns an importation that violated intellectual property rights, according to Adeniyi.
“The container contained 305 cartons of toothpastes that were hidden with beads and a Jalabiya dress,” he repeated. “This particular seizure also highlights what the NCS does with other government agencies regarding the enforcement of branch rules,” he said.
It was a case of brand infringement involving a Nigerian business.
These products are susceptible to confiscation due to the fact that they were not registered by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, in addition to the brand infringement. “We also confiscated two additional containers of expired chest and lung tablets that did not have a NAFDAC registration number,” he continued.
Additionally, he said, the service seized two 40-foot codeine-carrying containers. They have also confiscated these two containers. And the data we have on these containers is connecting the owners to those of the ones we produced earlier,” Adeniyi stated.
According to him, the data the service is receiving aids in identifying the connection between the importers of the previously mentioned ones. Five arrests have been made in relation to the seizures, he said.
Five people have been taken into custody, according to Adeniyi. Three of the five have been charged, and they have made court shows. And until the main case hearing occurs perhaps next month, they are now being held on remand in Ikoyi Prisons,” Adeniyi emphasized.
Using the tool of customs-to-customs cooperation, he pledged that the service will collaborate with both domestic and foreign partners and customs administrations worldwide to find the people responsible for these actions. Additionally, make sure Nigeria doesn’t turn into a place where they dump their waste.
