Felix Kumuyi
Anti – Smuggling: Apapa Customs At it Again, Hits Smugglers Hard, Impounds N26.5Bn worth of Cannabis Sativa
Comptroller EAO Oshoba, CAC, Apapa Premier Port Area Command, NCS
The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Premier Port Area Command, has as the nation’s leading Command of the service continued to steadily stay on course of its revenue collection, anti-smuggling and trade facilitation mandates, ensuring responsive vigilance in carrying out its duties to ensure accurate duty collections, as well as preventing inflow of uncustomed goods through Apapa ports.
The Seized Cannabis concealed with vehicles in the consignment
The command, through this responsive vigilance and robust inter-agency collaboration, consistently maintained seizure frequency in consignments that are inimical to the nation’s growth and injurious to her citizens.
Once again, operatives of the command, led by the Customs Area Controller (CAC), Comptroller EAO Oshoba recently disclosed the seizure of huge Cannabis Indica weighing 4,143.5 kilograms worth a total of Twenty-Six Billion, Five Hundred and Sixty-Five Nine Million, Eight Hundred and Forty-Seven Thousand, Seven Hundred and Seventy-One Naira (₦26,569,847,771).
According to the Press statement signed by the command’s Public Relations Officer CSC Isah Sulaiman, on behalf of the CAC, the seized prohibited drugs which was cleverly concealed with some imported vehicles in a container was through robust intelligence profiling made during a routine examination together with the personnel of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Command’s Enforcement Unit.
The Impounded container
The statement said, while relying on credible intelligence together with the NDLEA, the Customs Area Controller (CAC), Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba had directed that the 1×40ft container number FANU1933352, be subjected to thorough examination which resulted in the discovery on Friday, 10 July 2026.
The container was found to contain Three (3) used vehicles- Red Nissan Micra (2015 model) Black Toyota Corolla S (2019 model) and Gray Toyota Corolla (2015 model) A thorough search of the container led to the discovery of 162 bags containing a total of 8,287 parcels of Cannabis Indica. Each parcel weighs 500 grams.
Breakdown of the seizure shows that Four (4) bags were found concealed inside the Red Nissan Micra (2015 model). The remaining 158 bags were recovered from the floor of the container and in the spaces between the 3 vehicles. No illicit substances were found in the Black Toyota Corolla S (2019 model) or the Gray Toyota Corolla (2015 model).
According to Comptroller Oshoba, the seizure highlights the Apapa Area Command’s unwavering vigilance and dedication to intercepting prohibited items, particularly illicit drugs that endanger public health, safety and national security, while he emphasized that the action aligns with the zero-tolerance directive of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR against all forms of illicit trade in the nation’s ports.
The CAC however reaffirms the Command’s resolve to facilitate legitimate trade while rigorously enforcing the law against the importation of prohibited and restricted goods while commending the officers of the Command for their diligence and professionalism in carrying out the examination.
In the words of the Area Controller, “This seizure once again demonstrates our untiring commitment in ensuring that only lawful trade thrives in Apapa Port. As we intensify investigation into the matter, I want to reiterate that this command has made the port a no go area for anything forbidden by our laws.
“Let me use this opportunity to rebuild the confidence of our compliant traders and assure them once again that they would always enjoy the many trade facilitation incentives emplaced by the Comptroller General of Customs” He concluded
The statement stated that the seizure of the 1×40ft container is in accordance with the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and extant laws.
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