Nigeria, Benin Customs Make 37 Seizures in Joint Geospatial Intelligence Led Anti-Smuggling Operation
By Ismail Aniemu
An eight-day landmark joint operation between the Nigeria Customs Service and the Customs Administration of the Republic of Benin has resulted in 37 seizures of narcotics, pharmaceuticals, petroleum products and consumer goods, marking the first time geospatial intelligence has been applied as a core tool in Customs enforcement along their shared border.
Codenamed Operation GEOCONTROL, the operation conducted along the Benin–Nigeria border corridor, was organised by the World Customs Organization (WCO) through the WCO–JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Agency) Joint Project.
The operation combined geospatial analysis, risk profiling and field intelligence to guide coordinated deployments by officers from both countries. Leading participants had earlier completed the WCO’s Master Trainer Programme on Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT).
According to a WCO statement released on the organisation’s website,Customs officers from both countries worked side by side to identify smuggling routes, map high-risk areas and target both official crossing points and vulnerable border zones.
They made extensive use of the WCO Geoportal, Geographic Information System applications, drones, and the WCO’s secure Customs Enforcement Network Communication Platform (CENcomm). These tools enabled near real-time information exchange and a shared operational picture of the border environment.
The enhanced situational awareness supported targeted interventions against a range of threats, including narcotics, arms and ammunition, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, counterfeit goods and environmentally sensitive products protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
WCO Secretary General Ian Saunders said the operation demonstrated the value of technological innovation and regional cooperation.
According to Mr Sanders “Operation GEOCONTROL demonstrates how Customs administrations can strengthen border security through technological innovation, intelligence-led enforcement and enhanced cooperation.
“Benin and Nigeria have showcased the tangible benefits of integrating innovative technologies and WCO-developed tools into operational practice. The operation also highlights the importance of cross-border and inter-agency cooperation in addressing increasingly complex security challenges and disrupting illicit trade networks.”
The initiative was designed to convert newly acquired GEOINT skills into practical results. It built directly on the WCO–JICA GEOINT Master Trainer Programme for West Africa, which trained officers from Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo. Officials said the successful translation of classroom training into field operations has strengthened both administrations’ capacity to identify enforcement hotspots and apply intelligence-led decision-making.
Operation GEOCONTROL is being presented by the WCO as a milestone in modernising Customs enforcement, showing how capacity-building programmes, partnerships and digital tools can turn data into actionable intelligence and concrete results on the ground.
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