The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS has handed over nine containers of seized narcotics and unregistered pharmaceuticals intercepted by the Apapa Area Command to the NDLEA and NAFDAC in Lagos.
The consignments included 6.7 metric tonnes of Cannabis Sativa, 339,800 bottles of Codeine syrup, expired drugs and fake medicines, with a Duty Paid Value of ₦53.39 billion.
The Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, who handed over the consignments in Lagos, said the seizures followed painstaking intelligence gathering, scanning analysis, physical examination and sustained collaboration with the NDLEA.
CGC Adeniyi described the seizures as a victory for public safety rather than a measure of financial value.
“These seizures represent far more than monetary value. They represent lives protected, families preserved, communities secured and countless young Nigerians shielded from the devastating consequences of drug abuse and unsafe medicines.”
He commended officers and men of the Apapa Area Command for their professionalism and vigilance, while applauding the sustained partnership between the Nigeria Customs Service, NDLEA, NAFDAC and other security agencies.
The CGC also reaffirmed the Service’s resolve to deepen collaboration with national and international partners to deny criminal networks the opportunity to exploit Nigeria’s ports and borders. Adeniyi warned smugglers that the Service would continue to intensify intelligence-led operations.
“To those who seek to use our ports to traffic illicit drugs, expired pharmaceuticals or other prohibited goods, let today’s operation send a clear and unmistakable message that Nigeria’s ports are no longer safe haven for smugglers or organised criminal networks.”
Representatives of the sister agencies who received the consignments described the handover as a landmark achievement in inter-agency collaboration against transnational drug trafficking.
They pledged to sustain joint efforts with the NCS in investigating offenders, dismantling criminal networks and protecting Nigerians from the dangers posed by illicit drugs and unsafe pharmaceutical products.
