The head of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, presented the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday with illegal drugs that had been confiscated during joint inspections by security groups.
Speaking at the event, NDLEA’s Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), said the “handing over of seized illicit drugs in custody of the Nigeria Customs Service is a development that speaks volumes about the hard work and diligence of security agencies tasked with securing the territory of our country.
The drugs were seized during examination of containers after they had been tracked, based on credible intelligence from international partners.
The items include: 65 packets of Colorado, a strain of cannabis weighing 32.5kg seized from 1X40ft container No. UACU 534833/6 imported from Canada; 17 parcels of cocaine weighing 16.690kg; 151 parcels of Colorado weighing 107kg; some precursor chemicals among others seized from 1x40ft container No. MSCU 458177/0 imported from Durban South Africa; 40 packets of cocaine weighing 39.7kg; 1026 packets of Colorado weighing 688.2kg seized from 40ft container No. THRU 796807/1 imported from Durban South Africa and 226 packets of Colorado weighing 128kg seized from 40ft container No. MEDU 785276/3 imported from Durban, South Africa.
Represented at the ceremony by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, he said the seizure was a testament that, just like the airports, the sea ports are also secure.
Quoting Marwa further:
“That we are here today doing this is a testament to the cooperation we received from the Nigeria Customs Service.
“This level of cooperation between NDLEA and Customs, as well as other security agencies and port stakeholders, is a strong signal to drug cartels that our ports and indeed Nigeria, will not be a haven for their criminal business.”
“The synergy between Customs and NDLEA would further ensure the closing of other loopholes that criminal elements may have capitalised on in the past years to smuggle illicit items into our country.”
“I will also seize this opportunity to commend the officers and men of the Tin Can Command of NDLEA and other special units, including our K-9 unit involved in the processes leading to these seizures, for their steadfastness, since we received intelligence weeks ago from our international partners on the containers from which these drugs were recovered as they departed the port of loading.
Marwa voiced gratitude to the leaders, men, and officers of Customs for the cooperation between the Service and NDLEA, not just at Tin Can Port but in all jurisdictions where the two organizations work together to advance the country’s interests.