Customs Seizes N53.39bn Illicit Drugs, Expired Pharmaceuticals in 9 Containers at Apapa Port

The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has intercepted nine containers of illicit drugs, expired pharmaceuticals and fake medical products with a combined Duty Paid Value of N53.39 billion at the Apapa Port, Lagos.

Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, disclosed this during a formal handover of the seized consignments at the Apapa Area Command on Wednesday.

Adeniyi said the operation relied on intelligence gathering, non-intrusive inspection technology, cargo scanning, physical examination, and collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

According to the NCS, the nine containers included:

1. *Cannabis Sativa ‘Canadian Loud’*: Two 40-foot containers concealed with vehicles, household items and spare parts. One held 3,639 parcels weighing 1,819.5kg, the other 9,918 sachets weighing about 4.95 metric tonnes.

2. Two containers with 339,800 bottles hidden inside cartons of insulated casserole dishes.

Three containers with Tramadol, Oxytocin injections, Carbamazepine tablets, Cloxicillin capsules, Vitamin B12 and B-Complex injections.

One container of Piccan Teething Powder for regulatory action, and one with 1,100 packages of CHACOLD Chlorpheniramine Maleate Capsules bearing a fake NAFDAC number.

Adeniyi said the total DPV stood at N53,391,140,029. “These seizures represent far more than monetary value. They represent lives protected, families preserved, communities secured and countless young Nigerians shielded from the devastating consequences of drug abuse and unsafe medicines,” he stated.

He added that the concealment methods showed criminal syndicates are exploiting legitimate trade, but NCS now has “the intelligence capability, technological capacity and operational readiness to detect, intercept and dismantle such networks.”

The CGC said all narcotics will be handed over to NDLEA for investigation and prosecution, while expired and fake pharmaceuticals will go to NAFDAC for regulatory action and safe disposal. Vehicles, spare parts and other legitimate goods used to conceal the items will also be processed.