Customs intercepts cannabis, rice, other contraband worth N3.3bn in Lagos
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘A’, Ikeja, has intercepted contraband items, including cannabis sativa, foreign rice and other prohibited goods valued at N3.32 billion across Lagos and its environs.
The Area Controller of the unit, Aliyu Gambo, disclosed this while addressing journalists in Lagos on Monday, describing the seizures as the result of intelligence-driven and strategically coordinated enforcement operations.
Gambo said the unit recorded a total of 144 seizures following a reorganisation of patrol strategies, enhanced internal supervision and a shift from routine checkpoints to targeted deployments across the Lagos metropolis.
He listed the seized items to include 6,954 bags of foreign parboiled rice, equivalent to 12 trailer loads; 77 bags of foreign sugar; 21 used vehicles; 3,362 jerrycans of foreign vegetable oil; 20,700 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS); 915 bales of used clothing; and a 20-foot container laden with stone-coated aluminium roofing sheets.
In a major clampdown on drug trafficking, the controller also revealed that operatives intercepted 3,029 parcels of synthetic cannabis, popularly known as “Ghanaian Loud,” with a total weight of about 1,431 kilogrammes.
He described the drug seizure as a significant blow to criminal supply networks, noting that such illicit activities contribute to insecurity and undermine public safety.
Gambo reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigeria Customs Service to sustain intelligence-led operations and collaborate with relevant security agencies to curb smuggling and other transborder crimes.
