The comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, on Wednesday, announced the interception of contraband items worth over N921 billion as the service intensifies enforcement operations at the nation’s ports.

The items included expired food items, unregistered pharmaceutical products and controlled security equipment.

Mr Adeniyi during a press briefing at the Apapa Command of the service said that the seizures were made between January and April.

According to him, the seizures also involved 11 separate interdictions.

He said the prohibited items included five 40-foot containers, two 20-foot containers and four seizures of loosely concealed contraband.

The CG also gave updates on the rollout of the Customs Unified Management Information System, known as B’Odogwu, describing the pilot phase at PTML and Tin Can Island Port as crucial.

He explained that his earlier visits to PTML and Tin Can that morning, before arriving at Apapa, were to gain firsthand insights of challenges faced by stakeholders with the new digital platform.

He admitted that while the B’Odogwu rollout was ambitious and necessary, the service was fully aware that initial implementation would have some hiccups.

“We are not pretending that when we roll out a very serious project of that magnitude that there will be no hitches,” he said.

He added that customs was approaching the situation with flexibility and innovation, holding stakeholder and bank engagements to address the hiccups in the system’s deployment.

Mr Adeniyi also explained measures towards strengthening enforcement at the Apapa Command, in line with the national strategic economic development plan and executive orders on port operations.

He said the command had scaled up surveillance across seaports, airports, and land borders in response to evolving tactics by transnational criminal networks attempting to breach the country’s import protocols.

He raised alarm over the rising influx of unregistered pharmaceutical products, particularly sexual enhancement drugs into the Nigerian market, warning that such items posed threat to public health and safety.

Unregistered medicines lacking mandatory certification from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) were seized.

Other items seized included expired margarine products, and restricted security gadgets including drones and telecommunication devices without end-user certificates from the Office of the National Security Adviser.

The seizures included 89 cartons of unregistered pharmaceutical products in container CAAU6514500, 242 cartons in container TCNU6880130, and 1,001 cartons of hydra-sildenafil citrate tablets in container MRSU3041714.

Another 40-footer container was found to contain 1,400 packages of various unregistered drugs, while a fifth had 805 packages falsely declared as cosmetic powder.

The service also intercepted two 20ft containers, GCNU1367992 and GCNU1372704, containing expired margarine products.

Additionally, 60 units of warrior drones without valid end-user certificates were recovered from container MSKU9329923, valued at N15.9 million.

Another 53 helicopter drones, evacuated from a container marked CFAX3, carried an estimated duty-paid value of N2.1 million.

Ten professional FM transceiver walkie-talkies were also confiscated from ENL, while a 20ft container (SUDU1408819) was found to contain 500 packages of active medicine tablets lacking NAFDAC certification.

Mt Adeniyi disclosed that the analysis of these seizures revealed five key smuggling trends.

According to him, first was the disturbing proliferation of sexual enhancement drugs, as five of the 11 containers seized were laden with variants of sildenafil citrate and other related substances.

The CG warned that the indiscriminate use of these drugs without medical supervision could lead to serious health complications, including cardiovascular risks.

He said a second trend was a growing pattern of misdeclaration, with importers labeling pharmaceuticals as general merchandise or cosmetics in an attempt to evade detection.

According to him, two containers had pharmaceutical products concealed beneath skin creams.

He noted a third trend is the diversification of contraband shipments, with importers mixing pharmaceuticals, expired food, and restricted technology items in a single container.

This, he said, suggested the involvement of sophisticated criminal networks rather than isolated smugglers.

He said the fourth trend was the strategic selection of countries with weaker pharmaceutical export controls, indicating a deliberate attempt to exploit regulatory loopholes.

He identified the last trend of increasing importation of non-pharmaceutical security threats, including drones and communication gadgets, which raised significant concerns for national security.

The CG emphasised that the seizures were not isolated efforts but part of a broader enforcement drive that had seen the service record 22 narcotics-related interceptions in the first quarter of 2025 alone.

He added that the seizures accounted for a duty-paid value of N730 billion, representing 34.6 per cent increase when compared to the same period in 2024.

He credited the results to the service’s intelligence-led enforcement strategy and collaboration with regulatory agencies like NAFDAC, Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency and Office of the National Security Adviser.

Mr Adeniyi warned that the service would not relent in its commitment to securing Nigeria’s borders and protecting the lives of its citizens.

He commended officers and men of the Apapa Command for their vigilance and professionalism, urging stakeholders within the international trade ecosystem to comply strictly with import regulations.

Concluding the briefing, the CG declared a restricted area around the five containers carrying dangerous pharmaceutical materials, urging all present to maintain a safe distance to avoid any risk of exposure.

He urged the public to remain alert and make use of confidential channels to report suspicious imports, emphasising that collective vigilance would curb the growing threat of organised transnational smuggling.

(NAN)