The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has disclosed that it intercepted more than 230 forty-foot containers of illegally imported pharmaceuticals within the past year, underscoring the scale of illicit drug trafficking confronting the country’s borders.
Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Timi Bomodi, revealed this in Abuja while receiving members of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Drugs and Illicit Trafficking at the Service’s headquarters.
He said many of the seized consignments exceeded limits approved by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and were falsely declared as other goods, warning of the severe public health risks they posed.
Bomodi added that Customs also recorded major narcotics interceptions, including 22 parcels of cocaine seized at the Seme border and handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), as well as more than 1,000 kilogrammes recovered at Lagos ports, some concealed within ship hulls.
He said the Service had intensified intelligence-led enforcement across land borders, airports and seaports, deploying advanced scanners, establishing a specialised drug detection unit and strengthening officer training, alongside mandatory drug testing for personnel and formal cooperation agreements with NDLEA and NAFDAC.
Earlier, Chairman of the House committee, Timehin Adelegbe, said the National Assembly was considering a review of the National Tobacco Control Act to address regulatory gaps around emerging nicotine products such as electronic cigarettes and vape devices. He said the visit aimed to deepen collaboration with Customs in tackling illicit drugs, prohibited pharmaceuticals and unregulated tobacco products, which he described as a growing national crisis requiring coordinated legislative and enforcement action.
Adelegbe noted that the committee had already held a public hearing involving more than 300 organisations and planned nationwide advocacy campaigns in major cities and across the states to raise awareness of the dangers of drug abuse and illicit nicotine products.
He welcomed Customs’ assurances of full institutional support, as both sides pledged closer cooperation to curb illicit trade and strengthen border control.