The Ogun I Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted contraband worth ₦6.78bn in 73 seizures over 41 days, including over 10,000 parcels of cannabis sativa.
Acting Customs Area Controller Deputy Comptroller OO Afeni disclosed this during a press briefing in Idiroko on Tuesday.
According to him, the seizures include 10,126 parcels of cannabis indica weighing 4,627kg with a street value of over ₦5bn, 1,759 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 2,685 kegs of vegetable oil, and 14,550 litres of PMS.
Other items include analgin injections without NAFDAC registration, expired seasoning, second-hand clothing, sugar, honey, footwear, and two used vehicles.
Six live pangolins were also recovered and handed over to the relevant agency.
Afeni said the command had earlier handed over 2,543 parcels of cannabis to the NDLEA Idiroko Special Command on March 16. In total, 26,002 parcels have been taken off the streets since January.
“Cannabis has a devastating effect on our youths and fuels armed robbery, banditry, cultism, and terrorism. This intervention is a preventive measure to stop a drug-related crisis,” he said.
The CAC said the seizures were made across Ogun State through intelligence-led operations and inter-agency collaboration.
A DAF truck carrying 2,185 kegs of vegetable oil was intercepted on the Sagamu-Interchange/Ogere road on May 5, while a Volvo truck with unregistered drugs and expired goods was stopped on May 7.
He said smuggling of rice and vegetable oil undermines local production, kills jobs, and exposes consumers to unregulated products. Since assuming office, the command has seized 12,271 kegs of vegetable oil.
Speaking on revenue, Afeni said the command generated and remitted ₦125.43m through baggage assessment and auction of seized petroleum products between March 16 and May 12. It also facilitated the export of 95 metric tonnes of goods valued at ₦1.004bn FOB.
The command is deploying geospatial technology to shift from traditional patrols to intelligence-led enforcement, in line with the Comptroller-General’s modernization agenda.
Afeni thanked the CGC, sister agencies, officers, and stakeholders for their support, and urged compliant traders to continue engaging the command.
“We are not just catching smugglers; we are clearing the path for honest businesses. Complaints about multiple checkpoints have disappeared, replaced by a streamlined corridor for legitimate commerce,” he added.