Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted 16 containers of prohibited goods worth an estimated N10 billion at Lagos Port Complex (LPC) in Apapa.
Gatekeepers News reports that the seizures were the result of intelligence-led operations and joint inspections with other security agencies.
Items recovered include two pump-action rifles, 25 rounds of ammunition, and 202 cans of Colorado Loud—a Canadian strain of cannabis concealed in a 40-foot container (MRSU6407089).
Each can weighed 500 grams, totalling 101 kg, equivalent to the weight of two bags of cement. The shipment was traced to a consignee identified as Babatunde Ogidiolu of Lagos.
A secondary search of the initially cleared container uncovered the contraband. Further inspections revealed a Smith & Wesson pistol with 55 rounds, seven containers of expired drugs, three containers of expired margarine, and three containers of prohibited used clothing.
Other seizures included two 40-foot containers with 1,290 sacks of frozen poultry products each, 305 cartons of counterfeit toothpaste concealed with beads and jalabiya dresses, and two containers of expired chest and lung tablets without National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) approval.
Two additional containers of codeine-based products linked to a network behind earlier seizures were also confiscated over the weekend.
NCS said it has intensified the use of technology, intelligence gathering, and interagency collaboration to curb smuggling, adding that its recent results demonstrate the effectiveness of these measures.
