Customs Busts ₦12.78bn Smuggling Ring, Seizes 1.81 Tonnes of Canadian Loud and Expired Medicines
By Silas Onuoha
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command, has recorded another major success in its ongoing efforts to combat transnational organized crime, illicit trade, and threats to national security and public health through intelligence-driven enforcement operations.
Acting on credible intelligence and deploying advanced risk assessment and profiling mechanisms, officers of the Command, working in close collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Monday, 15 June 2026, intercepted a 40-foot container (No. CAAU7569127) laden with a large consignment of Cannabis Sativa, popularly known as “Canadian Loud.”
The seizure yielded a total of 3,639 sachets of the illicit substance, each weighing 500 grams, amounting to approximately 1,819 kilograms (1.81 tonnes). Preliminary field tests confirmed the substance as Cannabis Sativa.
Investigations revealed that the narcotics were expertly concealed inside a Nissan vehicle, a Toyota Sienna, as well as bags and drums loaded within the container, in a deliberate attempt to evade detection. The interception underscores the Command’s growing capacity to identify and dismantle sophisticated smuggling networks exploiting Nigeria’s maritime gateways.
The examination was conducted jointly with relevant security and regulatory agencies.
In a separate operation, the Command also intercepted two 40-foot containers loaded with expired pharmaceutical products illegally imported into the country. Physical examination revealed that the products had expiry dates ranging from 2021 to 2023, with indications that the importers intended to relabel and reintroduce them into the Nigerian market, thereby posing grave health risks to unsuspecting consumers.
Container No. PCIU8771576 was found to contain expired pharmaceutical products including Cidoxilin Capsules, Cynamine Vitamin B12 Injection, and Becoline B-Complex Injection.
Similarly, Container No. MRKU4961275 contained expired medical products such as Oxytocin Injection, Mexclor Eye Drops, Avomex Tablets, Carbamazepine Tablets, Silymarin Tablets, Nystatin Tablets, and Hyoscine Butylbromide Tablets.
The seized items have a combined Duty Paid Value (DPV) of ₦12,784,479,341.72. The seizures represent a significant blow to criminal elements seeking to undermine public health, national security, and the nation’s economy through the importation of prohibited and dangerous goods.
By preventing these harmful substances and expired medications from entering circulation, the Command has safeguarded countless Nigerians from potential health hazards and reinforced confidence in the country’s border management system.
Speaking on the seizures, the Customs Area Controller, Apapa Area Command, Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba, warned smugglers and their collaborators to desist from engaging in criminal activities.
“Individuals involved in smuggling, drug trafficking, and the importation of expired pharmaceuticals are enemies of national development. The Nigeria Customs Service possesses the intelligence, technology, and operational capacity to detect, intercept, and prosecute such offenders. Anyone contemplating these unlawful activities should abandon them immediately, as the consequences will be swift, decisive, and uncompromising. Apapa Port will never be allowed to serve as a conduit for economic sabotage or threats to public health,” he stated.
Comptroller Oshoba further emphasized that Apapa Port and all Customs-controlled areas remain under constant surveillance, assuring stakeholders and the general public that officers of the Command remain fully committed to protecting the Nigerian economy, facilitating legitimate trade, and securing the nation’s borders against criminal exploitation.
The CAC reassures Nigerians of its unwavering commitment to strengthening intelligence-led operations, fostering inter-agency collaboration, and ensuring that only legitimate goods pass through the nation’s premier port.
