Customs intercepts 144 smuggling attempts, seizes N3.3bn contraband

By Godwin Orishe & Cynthia Alo

The Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone ‘A’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ikeja, Lagos, has intercepted 144 smuggling attempts and seized contraband with a duty paid value (DPV) of N3.32 billion within five weeks of coordinated operations across the South-West corridor.

Comptroller of the Unit, Mr. Gambo Aliyu, disclosed this earlier this week during his maiden press briefing at the FOU ‘A’ headquarters, marking his first media engagement since assuming office. Aliyu said the seizures were achieved through intelligence-driven operations and a strategic overhaul of patrols and deployment patterns, aimed at cutting off supply chains of smuggling syndicates operating within the Lagos metropolis and coastal corridors.

According to him, the seizures include 6,954 bags of foreign parboiled rice equivalent to 12 trailer loads; 77 bags of foreign sugar; 21 units of assorted tokunbo vehicles; 3,362 jerrycans of foreign vegetable oil (25 litres each); 20,700 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS); 915 bales of used clothing; and a 20-foot container laden with 20 pallets of stone-coated aluminium roofing sheets.

He said the unit also recorded a major breakthrough in the fight against drug trafficking with the interception of 3,029 parcels of a synthetic strain of cannabis indica popularly known as “Ghanaian Loud,” weighing about 1,431kg, with an estimated street value of N605.8 million. He explained that the operations were part of an integrated onslaught along the South-West corridor to disrupt criminal syndicates and stem the nexus between drug trafficking and rising crime, banditry and terrorism.

“For us, cutting off the supply of drugs also reduces criminality in the land. These drugs act as chemical catalysts that embolden perpetrators. Protecting the health and quality of life of Nigerians remains our cardinal objective,” Aliyu said.

Aliyu also announced the interception of four live pangolins along the waterways of Alapa Creek, Ajilete, which were handed over to the Wildlife Conservation Centre, describing the action as part of Nigeria’s commitment to enforcing wildlife protection laws. In another environmentally-related seizure, the unit confiscated 581 used refrigerator compressors concealed in a vehicle, noting that the importation violates Section 55(1)(d) of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, and the Basel Convention on trans-boundary movement of hazardous waste.

Speaking at the handover, Commander of Narcotics, NDLEA Lagos Strategic Command, Mr. Mohammed Kabir, acknowledged the receipt of the cannabis loud intercepted by the NCS, commending Customs for its diligence and sustained partnership.

Kabir recalled that on December 24, 2025, Customs had handed over a female suspect with 91 parcels of the same substance, adding that investigation had been concluded and prosecution was ongoing.

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