Apapa Customs Seizes 25.5kg of Cocaine From Brazilian Vessel, Hands Over Ship and Drugs to NDLEA.

Apapa Customs Seizes 25.5kg of Cocaine From Brazilian Vessel, Hands Over Ship and Drugs to NDLEA.

Lucky Akra

The Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted 25.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed aboard a Brazilian vessel, MV San Anthonio, during an intelligence-led operation at the Lagos port.

The operation was announced in a statement issued by CSC Isah Suleiman, Customs Public Relations Officer for the Apapa Command.

According to the Command, the illicit substance was packaged in 24 parcels and hidden in five bags and was uncovered during a targeted search that led to the detention of the vessel.

Customs officials have since handed both the seized drugs and the detained ship over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation.

Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba, Customs Area Controller for the Apapa Command, praised the operation, describing it as a product of the strengthened collaboration between the NCS and the NDLEA.

Oshoba noted that intelligence suggested the ship, which departed from Brazil, had made stops at ports in Honduras, Guatemala, and other locations known as global narcotics trafficking hubs. He said the interception aligns with the Customs Service’s renewed commitment to enforcing a “zero-compromise” directive issued by the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR.

“What has happened today is the outcome of profiling and intelligence-led operations by the NCS and NDLEA,” Oshoba said during the handover ceremony. “This seizure and the detention of the ship should send a strong warning to perpetrators of unlawful trade within our port system.”

He added that as the festive season approaches, the Command will intensify scrutiny of all cargo leaving the port, stressing that national security and economic interests will not be compromised for the sake of trade facilitation.

The NDLEA was represented at the ceremony by CN Haliru Umar, Commander of the Apapa Strategic Command, who formally received the seized narcotics on behalf of the agency.