The Nigeria Customs Service, Tincan Island Port Command, has intercepted 11 rifles, 6 pistols alongside their ammunition and heroine, among others.
It added that the command also seized psychotropic substances imported into the country but intercepted through collaborative work with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Dera Nnadi, disclosed to newsmen at the weekend while giving accounts on the activities of the command within the period of January to March, on Friday, 15 March 2024.
He said, “In total, we seized 11 rifles and 6 pistols from different containers imported into the country at different times. We also seized psychotropic substances imported into the country but intercepted through collaborative work with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
“Based on this collaboration, several kilograms of Cannabis Indica have been seized. In recent times, 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 investigations.”
Nnadi revealed that the command has collected a total of N240,302,743,023.47 from the period of January 2024 to date.
He said “If you recall, our revenue target on a monthly basis is N94,000,000,000.00. What this means is that we have been able to surpass our expected revenue target of N188 billion for January and February.”
The command subsequently handed over the seized drugs to the representative of NDLEA.
Receiving the items, the NDLEA Commander, Narcotics, TCIP, Mohammed Aminu-Abubakar, commended the efforts of officers involved in the seizures while also emphasizing the need for collaboration between sister agencies to secure Nigeria’s borders.
He noted, “I think this is a warning sign for people who will continue to partake in this illicit trade across the nation. There are a lot of arrests being made at the airport in relation to this.
“We should be working together with all the security agencies to see that we safeguard our own borders. It’s a wake-up call for all security agencies working in the maritime industry to make sure that we play our part to ensure that these illicit drugs do not get into our country,” he stated.