Apapa Customs seize N3.39bn codeine hidden in utensils

The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Space Command, in collaboration with the Nationwide Drug Legislation Enforcement Company, intercepted and seized two containers containing a complete of three,398 cartons (339,800 bottles) of codeine-containing syrup fastidiously hid in family utensils on the Apapa Port.

The Public Relations Officer of the command, Isah Sulaiman, a Chief Superintendent of Customs, introduced this in a press release on Monday obtained by The PidomNigeria. Sulaiman defined that the seizures have a cumulative, duty-paid worth of N3.398bn and have been intercepted on Sunday.

He pressured that the seizure comes barely 5 days after the Comptroller-Common of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, visited Apapa Port and declared that the port is not a playground for smugglers or legal syndicates hiding behind official commerce documentation.

“In a swift follow-up operation on Sunday, 15 March 2026, the command, in collaboration with the NDLEA, intercepted and seized two containers containing a complete of three,398 cartons (339,800 bottles) of codeine-containing syrup fastidiously hid in family utensils on the Apapa Port. Cumulatively, the seizures have a duty-paid worth of N3.398bn,” Sulaiman mentioned.

Giving particulars of the seizure, he talked about {that a} container with registration quantity MRKU 3816476 was discovered to comprise 1,700 cartons of CSP Codeine hid with 38 cartons of pearl plating insulated casserole/5’ bullet insulated hotspot.

“And a container with the quantity TGBU 5399178 was discovered to comprise 1,698 cartons of CSP Codeine hid with 36 cartons of pearl plating casserole. Each containers have been transformed to seizure in accordance with the NCS Act 2023 as amended,” he said.

Additionally talking on the seizure, the Customs Space Controller in control of the command, Emmanuel Oshoba, mentioned the seizure serves as a transparent demonstration of the command’s unwavering dedication to the directives and imaginative and prescient of the CGC.

“This recent seizure, coming simply 5 days after the CGC’s go to and robust warning to legal parts, is a direct response to his cost on us. We’re absolutely aligned with the service’s intelligence-led enforcement technique and can proceed to make Apapa Port extraordinarily hostile to smugglers and drug traffickers,” he said.

He recommended the NDLEA for its seamless collaboration and unwavering help within the profitable operation.

Oshoba maintained that the command stays steadfast in its resolve to guard public well being, safeguard nationwide safety, and facilitate solely official commerce, “according to the CGC’s renewed emphasis on technology-driven operations and nil tolerance for smuggling actions.”