By Sandra Chukwunyere The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has seized nine containers of narcotics, fake, expired and unregistered pharmaceutical products with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N53.39 billion at the Apapa Port in Lagos, preventing the illicit consignments from entering the Nigerian market.
The Service subsequently handed the narcotics over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for investigation and prosecution, while the
fake, expired and unregistered pharmaceutical products were transferred to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for regulatory action and safe disposal.
Among the seizures was a 40-foot container carrying 3,639 parcels of Cannabis Sativa, popularly known as Canadian Loud, weighing 1,819.5 kilograms. The narcotics were concealed alongside three imported vehicles and assorted automobile spare parts.
Another 40-foot container was found to contain 9,918 sachets of Cannabis Sativa weighing about 4.95 metric tonnes, hidden alongside two imported vehicles and household items.
Customs officers also intercepted two separate containers loaded with 170,000 bottles and 169,800 bottles of Codeine syrup respectively. The consignments had been concealed inside cartons of insulated casserole dishes and other household products in an apparent attempt to evade detection.
Other containers held expired pharmaceutical products, including Tramadol, Oxytocin injections, eye drops, Carbamazepine tablets, Cloxacillin capsules, Vitamin B12 injections and B-Complex injections.
Also seized were a consignment of Piccan Teething Powder and 1,100 packages of CHACOLD Chlorpheniramine Maleate Capsules bearing a fake NAFDAC registration number and an expiry date of December 2028.
Speaking during the handover ceremony in Lagos, the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC) Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, said the operation, coming days after the 2026 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, underscored the Service’s commitment to protecting Nigerians through intelligence-led enforcement and the deployment of non-intrusive inspection technology.
He said the seizures resulted from intelligence analysis and advanced cargo inspection, which enabled officers to detect the concealed narcotics and counterfeit pharmaceutical products.
According to Adeniyi, one of the pharmaceutical consignments initially appeared genuine, but further verification revealed that the NAFDAC registration certificate presented by the importer was fake.
He said the use of a fake registration number and supporting documents showed a deliberate attempt to smuggle unregistered pharmaceutical products into the Nigerian market, posing a serious threat to public health.
The Customs Comptroller-General said the nine intercepted containers had a combined Duty Paid Value of ₦53,391,140,029, stressing that the seizures represented far more than their monetary value.
“They represent lives protected, families preserved, communities secured and countless young Nigerians shielded from the devastating effects of drug abuse and unsafe medicines,” he said.
Adeniyi described the importation of expired medicines and controlled substances as a direct threat to public health, adding that the sophisticated concealment methods adopted by criminal syndicates demonstrated their determination to exploit legitimate trade channels.
He said the successful interceptions reflected the Nigeria Customs Service’s growing intelligence capability, technological capacity and operational readiness to dismantle organised smuggling networks.
Customs boas explained that only the narcotics and pharmaceutical products were handed over to the relevant agencies, while the vehicles, spare parts and other imported goods used to conceal them would remain in the custody of the Service for seizure, forfeiture, condemnation, revenue recovery and other enforcement actions in accordance with the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.
Adeniyi commended officers and men of the Apapa Area Command for their vigilance and professionalism and praised the continued collaboration between the Nigeria Customs Service, NDLEA, NAFDAC and other security agencies.
He warned importers of illicit drugs and counterfeit medicines that Nigeria’s ports would no longer serve as safe havens for smugglers, assuring that every intelligence lead would be pursued, every violation investigated and every offender brought to justice in accordance with the law.
