Customs Strike Hard! ₦1.7 Billion Contraband Seized In 30 Days, Nine Smugglers Nabbed

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit, Zone “A”, Ikeja, has seized smuggled goods valued at over ₦1.7 billion and apprehended nine suspects in a sweeping one-month operation across the South-West

During a press briefing in Lagos, the Comptroller General of the NCS, Adewale Adeniyi—represented by Acting Comptroller General Hussein Ejibunu—revealed that the Duty Paid Value (DPV) of all intercepted items totaled ₦1,784,432,000, a figure reflecting the agency’s intensified crackdown on cross-border crime.

The confiscated items, according to iReporter Online, include 3,500 bags of foreign parboiled rice (50kg each), 304kg of Indian hemp, 7,900 liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) packed in 316 jerry cans, and 54 bags and 20 bales of used clothing. Also recovered were 41 sacks of used footwear, 14 “Tokunbo” vehicles, 148 used tyres, and 42 used gas cylinders.

Additional seizures involved 31 air conditioning systems, 95 cartons of frozen poultry products, and several container loads of unapproved imports. These include one 40-foot container (TRHU 83907321) fully packed with used tyres, a 20-foot container (ONEU241369) with undeclared medicaments, and two 40-foot containers (MSKU 4796036 and MAEU 9205708). A separate truck was caught conveying banned items like used fridges, foreign supermarket goods, and second-hand clothing.

The Customs boss stressed that these containers were fraudulently declared to evade duty payments, adding that the agency recorded 102 enforcement actions from June 3 to July 18, 2025, disrupting smuggling syndicates and their illegal supply chains.

“While we remain steadfast in combating illicit trade and fraud,” he noted, “we are also committed to facilitating lawful business through smart, intelligence-driven strategies.”

The Customs Service has struck a delicate balance between enforcement and economic facilitation, according to iReporter Online, ensuring that law-abiding traders operate without unnecessary barriers while smugglers are held fully accountable.

”IREPORTER REPORTS”