Customs intercepts containers worth N770m, uncovers decades-old drug exhibits in Kano

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Kano/Jigawa Area Command, has intercepted 20 diverted transit containers with a combined Duty Paid Value (DPV) of about ₦770 million between the second and fourth quarters of 2025.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Friday while briefing journalists in Kano, describing the seizures as part of ongoing efforts to confront both long-standing institutional challenges and contemporary trade abuses.

Adeniyi said the interceptions resulted from intensified surveillance of transit cargo routes, which are often exploited for diversion, smuggling, and revenue leakage. According to him, the seizures reflect the Service’s evolving enforcement strategy—one that promotes legitimate trade while applying firm controls across border and inland transit corridors known to be vulnerable to abuse.

The Customs boss stressed that the Service maintains zero tolerance for violations that threaten national revenue and security. He added that, beyond the recent container interceptions, Customs officers in Kano also made a startling discovery during routine operations.

According to him, while clearing and renovating an old operations warehouse dating back to the 1980s, officers discovered a locked cabinet with no key and no documentation detailing its contents. After safety checks ruled out the presence of explosives, the cabinet was forced open, revealing hard drug seizures dating back nearly four decades.

Items recovered included cannabis sativa weighing 16.4 kilogrammes, 52,168 capsules of quinal barbitone sodium weighing 14.6 kilogrammes, permuline tablets, parcels of heroin, and other substances now undergoing further forensic examination.

Adeniyi explained that investigations showed the seizures were made in 1986 and 1987—years before the establishment of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)—which accounted for why the exhibits remained in Customs custody for over 30 years.

He noted that although exhibit management systems have significantly improved over time, the safe preservation of the drugs for decades demonstrated institutional responsibility, even in the absence of a specialised drug enforcement agency at the time. The substances have since been formally handed over to the NDLEA for further investigation and laboratory analysis.

While receiving the seized drug substances, Garba Jabo, a representative of the NDLEA Kano Strategic Command, commended the Nigeria Customs Service for safeguarding the exhibits and for its cooperation in transferring custody.

He said that although the drugs may have lost potency due to age, comprehensive scientific testing would still be carried out in line with agency procedures.

Overall, the interception of high-value diverted containers and the rediscovery of decades-old drug seizures underscore an agency strengthening its grip on present-day trade crimes while responsibly closing unresolved chapters from the past.