Dera Nnadi,Customs Area Controller of the Tin-Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), on Friday, announced the seizure of a cache of arms, ammunition and drugs imported into the country.
According to him,the seized items include military camouflage, illicit drugs such as Colorado, heroine, Cocaine among other hard drugs. The arms recovered are 11 Rifles that include automatic single barrel rifles and pump action guns and six pistols among others.
Speaking at a press conference, the Customs Area Controller, Tin Can Island command, Compt. Dera Nnadi, stated that the seizures were made by eagle eyed officers of the command.
According to him, some persons arrested in line with the seizures are still in detention and would be prosecuted. āThe Command anti-smuggling drive has yielded the following result: one 20P 9964 Rifle; another 20P 9964 Rifle; one Pump Action Rifle; one Practical Tactical 30H 80019922 Rifle; another 20P 992 Rifle; two AV Pump Action Rifle; and yet another P10115 Rifle. In total, we seized 11 Rifles and six Pistols from different containers imported into the country at different times.
āAlso, in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), we seized psychotropic substances imported into the country. Based on this collaboration, several kilograms of Cannabis Sativa have been seized. In recent time, we have also seized 23 packages containing 23 kilograms of heroin concealed in a container, the identity of which we are still keeping secret due to ongoing investigation.
āOur vigour to make these seizures was in furtherance of the resolve of the federal government to make this country safe. We are all aware that the importers of these seizures intend to use them for nefarious activities which includes support to insurgents and kidnapping activities and other vices that are inimical to the well-being and security of our nation,ā he stated.
Nnadi said the command has collected N240,302,743,023.47 as total revenue between January and mid March 2024
Giving a breakdown of the collected revenue,Nnadi said the command collected a total of N88,430,126,122.72 in the month of January 2024. This,according to him, is 7.89% higher than the value of N42,536,336,038.11 for the month of January 2023.
He added that in February 2024,the command generated N100,399,354,887.71 which is 41.82% higher than the N41,518,738,649.09 collected in February 2023 In the first 13 days of March 2023, the command collected
N42,473,262,013
