The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted illicit drugs, military and police hardware at the cargo section of the domestic wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.
Customs Area Controller of the Murtala Mohammed Airport Command, Compt. Sambo Dangaladima, on Tuesday said the drugs consist 162 cartons of banned tramadol hydrochloride 225 & 250mg, military and police hardware, which were intercepted at the Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO).
According to Customs Area Controller, the hard drugs, which originated from India and Pakistan and were routed through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, include 92,387 packs, 929,970 sachets and 9,299,700 tablets with an estimated Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N13.8billion.
He said the suspected importer of the illicit drugs, Samson Olayiwan Tantolohun of 29 Okejide Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, would be handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation and prosecution.
Dangaladima said 309 pieces of military helmets; 106 pieces of Military Armless Jackets; 352 pieces of ballistic body armoured pads and 119 pieces of police badges were intercepted by his men.
Other intercepted contraband were five pieces of bullet proof jackets; 33 pieces of body side ballistic pads and 105 pieces of ballistic chest plates.
The Customs CAC stated that a suspect, Olaolu Marquis, was arrested for inability to provide End Users Certificate for the hardware, saying the NCS is empowered by Section 46B of the Customs Excise and Management Act to confiscate such items.
He said, “We intercepted and detained some Military hardware and uniforms from two AWBs, 118-11860343/3 and118-18860332/5, with the following 309 pieces of military helmets; 106 pieces of military armless Jackets; 352 pieces of ballistic body armored pads and 119 pieces of police badges.
“Others are five pieces of bullet proof jackets; 33 pieces of body side ballistic pads and 105 pieces of ballistic chest plates. The suspect connected to this importation could not provide the end user certificate which is the lawful prerequisites for such Importation. We have detained the suspects, Mr Olaolu Marquis, and the military wares while investigation is ongoing.
“We are very much mindful of the fact that 2023 is an election year in Nigeria, the inflow of traffic of this hard drugs that induce our youths to do extraordinary things (when taken) are bound to increase. I can assure the unscrupulous importers that MMAC is the most dangerous routes for their illicit trade, because we are always here to catch them and ensure that they face the wrath of the law,” he said.
Dangaladima also said that the command generated N69.77billion revenue between January to December, 2022 fiscal year.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.