The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has officially handed 25 containers of seized and unregistered pharmaceutical products intercepted at the Port to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Addressing the media, on Friday, 11th July at Apapa port, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, who supervised the handover stated that the containers comprising 21 forty-foot and 4 twenty-foot containers were laden with a disturbing assortment of unregistered drugs, fake medications, and banned substances, including codeine-based cough syrups.
According to the Customs boss, the total street value of the intercepted goods stood at ₦9,235,402,973, warning that such products pose an “imminent danger to public health.”
He said “These activities represent a sophisticated network of criminal enterprises that deliberately exploit regulatory gaps to compromise our national health security,” Adeniyi stated.
A breakdown of the contents reveals a shocking array of illicit goods: sexual enhancement drugs like REDSUN and HYEGRA (sildenafil citrate), codeine-laced cough syrups under the CSC brand, counterfeit antibiotics such as oxytetracycline and artesunate, as well as painkillers containing diclofenac sodium and paracetamol many bearing fake NAFDAC registration numbers.
Also seized were expired food products including margarine and chocolate, veterinary drugs like albendazole bolus, antimalarial tablets such as artepharm -artequick, and consumer goods like Crusader soap.
The Customs boss noted that the success of the operation was largely due to strategic intelligence-sharing with NAFDAC. “The operational synergy we have developed with NAFDAC reflects collaboration at its finest.
He added that the cooperation, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), has enhanced real-time responses to smuggling threats and fortified the country’s anti-contraband efforts.
“As a Service, we remain committed to making our seaports, airports, and land borders impenetrable barriers against smuggling operations,” Adeniyi affirmed, highlighting that intelligence-led enforcement remains the backbone of Customs’ nationwide operations.
He described the operational synergy NCS developed with NAFDAC as reflecting strategic collaboration at its finest, with the NAFDAC Director-General providing critical intelligence even at midnight about suspicious importations that proves decisive to anti-smuggling operations.
CGC Adeniyi stressed that this MOU facilitated coordination enables swift responses to emerging threats, as he commended the Director-General and her dedicated team whose technical expertise, combined with NCS enforcement capabilities, has created a formidable barrier against criminal networks seeking to compromise Nigeria's borders.
The Customs boss said that the service, in partnership with NAFDAC and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, remains uncompromisingly committed to the battle against merchants of death who pursue illicit profits from businesses that destroy lives and communities. "Under the coordination of the Office of the National Security Adviser, our joint operations have resulted in the seizure of over 200 containers followed by coordinated destruction exercises, with unregistered pharmaceutical products comprising 63.7% of seizure values, highlighting the scale of threats that could have inflicted devastating damage on human lives and our social ecosystem if permitted to infiltrate our markets," he said.
Reading the Riot Act to all stakeholders within the international trade environment, the CGC warned that NCS in strategic partnership with sister government agencies, will maintain an uncompromising stance on regulatory compliance.
In his words: "We shall deploy our full statutory powers of seizure, arrest, investigation, and prosecution of suspects without hesitation.
"Where it is discovered that haulage operators, bonded terminal owners, or any other trade facilitators are complicit in these illegal activities, such persons or companies will face the full weight of the law. Our intelligence network and technological capabilities have been significantly enhanced to detect and subterfuge. intercept prohibited items regardless of concealment methods or documentation."
CGC Adeniyi extended special commendation to NCS operatives at the Apapa Port Command who, through their vigilance, professionalism, and dedication to duty, successfully executed these complex interdictions, reflecting the core values of the Service and collective commitment to protecting Nigeria's borders and citizens. "This handover ceremony symbolizes our shared commitment to protecting the health and security of our nation, and through continued inter-agency collaboration, intelligence sharing, and strategic enforcement, we shall ensure that Nigeria's borders remain secure against those who would compromise our national health security for criminal gain," he noted.
He further assured that the fledging inter-agency synergy at ports will continue to blossom for the interest of the economy and safety of Nigerians.
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