In a bid to invigorate the anti-smuggling efforts of the Nigeria Customs Service, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, MFR, yesterday showcased the seizures of banned substances at the Tin Can Island Port Command.
Addressing the Press, Adeniyi said the Command intercepted two containers with unwholesome pharmaceutical products containing three plastic drums of Cannabis Indica, 46 bags of Cannabis Indica from Canada with a street value of N3.21 billion.
The third container was a 40-foot container and had in its bowels 877 cartons of Codeine syrup and 82 cartons of illicit psychotropic substances from India with a combined street value of N964,339,348.00
The CGC said the substances pose a very present and severe danger to the social health and well-being of the citizens.
“These substances not only impair the health and well-being of individuals, but also contributes to the rise in criminal activities.
“The abuse of Cannabis Indica leads to very serious mental health issues – addiction.”
Adeniyi said criminal elements also use these drugs as stimulants, further fuelling societal unrest even as funds derived from such illicit trade are used by non-state actors for financing societal malfeasances.
Apart from revenue loss, these drugs pose a real danger to national security, he said.
He noted that these interceptions have brought to light the collaboration of criminal elements using compromised Customs Officers, Customs Agents, and other Operators to subvert the system.
He disclosed that the Customs Command had identified a cartel operating in the port who use their domain as sanctuaries for these nefarious activities, noting that they will not be spared.
He disclosed that oftentimes, stemmed containers that left the port on transzire didn’t reach the bonded terminals but ended up in the warehouses of the importers.
The CGC said he was committed to working with national and international agencies to further mitigate the activities of these criminal gangs in order to safeguard the society.
He commended the Tin Can Island Port Customs Controller, Comptroller Dera Nnadi, mni, and his officers for their determination and special efforts in frustrating the activities of economic saboteurs.
Stakeholders who witnessed the unveiling of the seizures included the Port Manager, Tin Can Island Port, Mr. Sylvester Otukhe Egede, the NDLEA Commander, Narcotics, Mohammed Aminu Abubakar and other Senior Customs Officers.
