Felix Kumuyi
Apapa Customs Brings to Bare Top-notch Intelligence in Massive 1.8tons Cannabis Sativa, Expired Pharmaceuticals Seizures
Comptroller EAO Oshoba, CAC, Apapa Area 1 Command, NCS
Credible, actionable intelligence and the utilizing advanced risk assessment tools were on high display in the recent massive and spectacular seizure of Cannabis Sativa and expired medicaments showcased by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area One Command.
It was indeed another remarkable and significant anti-smuggling breakthrough in the Apapa command’s sustained fight against transnational organized crime, illicit trade, that are threat to national security and public health when a whooping seizure of 1.8 tonnes size of Cannabis Sativa and expired medicaments were intercepted through a well calibrated intelligence profiling.
According to the press statement signed by the command’s Public Relations Officer CSC Isah Sulaiman, acting on credible, actionable intelligence and utilizing advanced risk assessment tools, officers of the Command in collaboration with the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Monday, 15th June 2026 at about 1200hrs successfully intercepted 1 x 40FT container with number CAAU7569127 conveying a large consignment of Cannabis Sativa, commonly known as “Canadian Loud.”
The bags of Cannabis, Medicaments seizures
The operation led to the recovery of 3,639 sachets of the illicit substance, with each sachet weighing 500 grams, while the examination was carried out in collaboration with key security and regulatory agencies.
This brings the total weight to approximately 1,819 kilograms (1.81 tonnes). However, the preliminary field tests conducted on the substance returned positive results for Cannabis Sativa.
Explaining further, the drugs were cleverly concealed inside a black Toyota Nissan vehicle, a Toyota Sienna, along with several bags and drums loaded inside the container. This intelligence-driven interception highlights the Command’s enhanced capacity to detect and dismantle sophisticated smuggling networks attempting to exploit Nigeria’s maritime entry points.
The containers that conveyed the contraband items
Similarly in a related development, the Command intercepted 2 x 40FT containers loaded with expired pharmaceutical products illegally imported into the country, with physical examination revealing that the pharmaceutical products have varied expiry date of 2021, 2022 and 2023, which the importers planned to relabel and reintroduce into the Nigerian market, posing serious health risks to unsuspecting consumers.
The expired pharmaceuticals seizure which include Cidoxilin Capsules, Cynamine Vitamin B12 Injection and Becoline B-Complex Injection were concealed in a 1x40FT container number PCIU8771576, while another seized 1 x 40FT container with number MRKU4961275 contained various expired medical products such as Oxytocin Injection, Mexclor Eye Drops, Avomex Tablets, Carbamazepine Tablets, Silymarin Tablets, Nystatin Tablets, Hyoscine Butylbromide Tablets.
According to the statement, the seized items have a combined Duty Paid Value (DPV) of Twelve Billion, Seven Hundred and Eighty-Four Million, Four Hundred and Seventy-Nine Thousand, Three Hundred and Forty-One Naira, Seventy-Two Kobo (₦12,784,479,341.72k) only.
The seized medicaments
Meanwhile, the statement adduced that this substantial seizure highlights the scale of the attempted economic sabotage and underscores the unwavering commitment of the Nigeria Customs Service to protect national security, public health and the Nigerian economy through intelligence-driven enforcement operations, as it prevented potentially harmful and ineffective medications from entering hospitals, pharmacies and homes across Nigeria.
Concealed with a vehicle
“These successes demonstrate that the Apapa Area Command’s enforcement strategy is anchored on intelligence gathering, strategic profiling, data analysis and strong stakeholder collaboration. The Command continues to deploy modern techniques to target high-risk consignments while facilitating legitimate trade in line with the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business agenda”, the statement further added.
The Customs Area Controller (CAC), Apapa Area Command, Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba, while commenting on the seizures, warned that “unpatriotic importers and their collaborators who deliberately engage in smuggling, drug trafficking and the importation of expired pharmaceuticals are enemies of Nigeria’s progress. “We have the intelligence, the technology and the resolve to identify and apprehend them. “Anyone still contemplating these criminal acts should immediately desist, because the consequences will be swift, decisive and uncompromising. “Apapa Port will not be used as a conduit for economic sabotage and public health endangerment,” the CAC vowed.
The seized Cannadian Loud
Comptroller Oshoba further warns that Apapa Port and all Customs-controlled areas remain under constant surveillance. The entire Officers of the Command remain resolute in protecting the Nigerian economy, safeguarding public health and preventing criminal exploitation of the nation’s borders, as he reassured all Nigerians of the Command’s commitment to intensifying intelligence-driven operations to protect lives, secure legitimate trade and uphold national security.
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