The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced the seizure of 16 containers laden with contraband, including arms, drugs, expired pharmaceuticals, counterfeit goods, and banned food items, with a total duty paid value exceeding ₦10 billion.
This was disclosed by the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, during a press briefing held at the Apapa Port in Lagos on 11th August ,2025.
According to the Customs Boss, among the seized shipments, were containers with the numbers MRSU6407089, OERU4243517, FBIU5507953, ZZSU7277511, and two additional 40-foot containers that arrived just a day before the briefing, found to contain codeine-based products. 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, Customs 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.
Adeniyi revealed that total of five arrests have been made in connection with these seizures and three suspects have been formally charged and are currently remanded in Ikoyi Prisons, while two others remain 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 justify 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 reteirated 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.
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