Officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Tin Can Island Port Command have intercepted a consignment of arms including no fewer than 204 pump-action rifles hidden in household items.
Maritime Bits checks revealed that the interception of the prohibited goods which are contained in the Import Prohibition List (IPL) is coming on the heels of the recent seizure of knocked-down pump-action rifle components and cannabis-infused snacks at Nigeria’s second busiest port, Tin Can Island Port (TCIP), Apapa, Lagos.
The IPL and the Export Prohibition List (EPL) are compiled by the Federal Government base on its fiscal policies and implemented by officers and men of the NCS to ensure that it is strictly adhered to by importers and exporters across the country.
Giving an insight into the seizure which has already raised eyebrows in certain quarters, the NCS disclosed that the 20-foot container was declared as containing used household items.
According to it, the consignment arrived Nigeria from Turkey aboard the vessel MV Algeciras Express on August 16, 2026 and was flagged for examination two days later following credible intelligence. A 100 per cent physical examination led to the discovery of the firearms concealed among furniture, refrigerators, solar panels and detergents.
The Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs (DCG), Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, DCG Timinadi Bomodi in a press briefing in Lagos recently revealed that some NCS experts working with officials of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), assembled the recovered components.
Bomodi also disclosed that in the course of the exercise, its officers identified no fewer than 204 MAS 49 ALTER MAGNUM pump-action rifles, alongside leftover components including 39 trigger pins, 58 locking lugs, 53 charging handles, 55 pistol grip screws, 56 springs, 56 trigger groups, 38 forward grips, 67 forward grip latches, 56 pistol grips, 54 barrels and two U-plates.
The Customs Chief also revealed that there were discrepancies in the import documents, particularly regarding the identity of the consignee, and that investigations are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the shipment.
Also speaking, the Customs Area Controller (CAC), TCIP Command, Comptroller Joseph Anani stated that the seizure further demonstrated the effectiveness of NCS intelligence-led enforcement strategy and heightened surveillance of cargo passing through the nation’s seaports.
The CAC warned smugglers, arms traffickers and their collaborators that the NCS would not allow Nigerian ports to become channels for the movement of prohibited and dangerous items into the country.
He used the occasion to pat the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Adewale Bashir Adeniyi on the back for his leadership and support, as well as the NCCSALW for its co-operation in assembling the firearm components of the seizure.
Anani who was prior to his deployment by the NCS High Command was the CAC of PTML Command, Apapa explained that the joint exercise underscored the importance of practical inter-agency collaboration in tackling the proliferation and trafficking of illicit arm in the country.
According to the CAC, the operation was an evidence of the effectiveness of the whole-of-government approach involving the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies in tackling arms smuggling and other criminal activities in the country.
He averred that the NCS risk-management system, intelligence gathering, technological tools, cargo profiling and inter-agency collaboration were making such schemes increasingly difficult to execute.
“Investigations would go beyond the physical seizure of the firearms to uncover the networks behind the consignment, including its source, shipment route, intended destination and beneficiaries”, he added.
