The operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have intercepted a cache of arms and ammunition valued at N270 million at the Murtala Muhammed Internatioal Airport in Lagos State.
The Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, made this known in a statement issued by the Customs spokesman, Abdullahi Maiwada, on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.
Adeniyi disclosed that the consignment, which was intercepted at the cargo section of the Lagos airport, was imported from Turkey with one suspect in custody.
He stated: “You may recall that the customs recently impounded 11 rifles and six pistols, among other items.
“Similarly, just two days ago, a press briefing of this kind was held in Port Harcourt, where we showcased the seizure of 844 rifles and 112,500 rounds of ammunition.
“On June 19, we deployed our personnel to man all the exit points effectively and mandated all examination officers to conduct 100 per cent examination of all consignments.
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“During the examination, an item was discovered and suspected to be part of a rifle from a console consignment with airway bill number 235-58737755, emanating from Turkey.”
Adeniyi noted that the entire consignment was isolated for thorough examination, saying: “At the end of the examination, it was established that four packages were used to conceal 55 pieces of unassembled Jojef Magnum (Tomahawk) semi-automatic shotgun.
“The unassembled rifles were concealed using shower faucet. The duty-paid value of these illicit arms is N270.8 million and a suspect is currently in our custody.
“The suspect is in connection with this illicit arms importation and is assisting with an ongoing investigation to uncover the perpetrators of this heinous crime.”
The Customs boss added that the analysis of the latest seizure with similar recent seizures indicated that some Nigerians based in Turkey were purchasing, packaging, and exporting illicit arms to Nigeria.
He said: “Intelligence further revealed that they are exploring new frontiers to perpetrate their nefarious activities.
“Still, I can assure Nigerians that all our commands are on red alert to intercept any such illicit arms importation.
“The suspect arrested will be handed over to the centre for further processing. We will work diligently with other agencies of government to apprehend all other parties to this illicit importation.”
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