The Nigeria Customs Service has seized 6,954 bags of foreign parboiled rice and intercepted 1,431kg of cannabis and other seizures valued at N3.3 billion.

The customs area controller of the Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’, Gambo Aliyu, disclosed this at a news conference in Lagos on Tuesday.

Mr Aliyu also said that the command apprehended eight suspects along with the seizure. He said that a female suspect was apprehended along with the cannabis, while the command lost an officer who led the interception on Tuesday.

The comptroller, while displaying the seizure of 6,954 bags of rice and second-hand clothes.

Mr Aliyu said the unit recorded 144 different types of contraband goods within six weeks of resuming operations as the head of the command around late December 2026. He attributed the success to reorganising patrol patterns, strengthening internal supervision and shifting from predictable checkpoints to targeted deployments across the Lagos metropolis.

The comptroller also announced notable environmental and wildlife-related interceptions, including four live pangolins rescued along Alapa Creek, Ajilete, and handed over to the Wildlife Conservation Centre.

Similarly, the unit seized 581 used refrigerator compressors concealed in a vehicle, which he said posed serious environmental and public health risks due to hazardous substances and greenhouse gas emissions. He explained that the seizure aligned with Section 55(1)(d) of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, and the Basel Convention, both of which regulate transboundary movement of hazardous waste.

Mr Aliyu said eight suspects were arrested in connection with the seizures and were under investigation.

Beyond enforcement, Mr Aliyu said the unit recovered N36.89 million between December 10, 2025 and February 2,  2026, through demand notices issued over cargo misdeclaration and other import-export compliance breaches.

Mr Aliyu handed over the intercepted 1431kg of cannabis to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for further investigation and prosecution.

While receiving the intercepted cannabis with the female suspect, the commander of Narcotics and the deputy commander of operations and training in Lagos, Ibrahim Muhammadu-Kabir, commended the FOU.

(NAN)