The Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun I Area Command, has intercepted 6,035 parcels of cannabis, 2,339 bags of foreign parboiled rice and other prohibited items with a combined duty-paid value of N3.57bn.
The Acting Customs Area Controller of the command, Oladapo Afeni, disclosed this on Thursday while parading the seized items at the command’s headquarters in Idiroko, Ogun State.
Afeni said the seizures were recorded between June 24 and August 13, 2026, as part of the command’s intensified crackdown on smuggling and other cross-border crimes.
He said, “The seized items included 6,035 parcels of Ghana Loud/Indica, 2,339 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 70 cartons of basmati rice, 30 bags of foreign sugar, 11,450 litres of Premium Motor Spirit in kegs, 1,750 litres of PMS in drums and 30 25-litre kegs of diesel.
“Other seized items are 100 bags of fertiliser, 67 bales of second-hand clothing, 2,674 pieces of new shorts and trousers, 3,760 pieces of new tops, 85 fire extinguishers, 480 cartons of Pure Haven drinks, 53 packages of oats, 47 cartons of cosmetics, 36 packages of hair accessories, three packages of surgical shoes and 127 new purses, with the total duty-paid value of the seizures put at N3,574,435,248.08.”
The acting controller said the command had intensified its operations against smugglers through intelligence gathering, technology and increased enforcement, warning that it would make operations increasingly difficult for those involved in illicit trade.
He said, “Smuggling is often painted by perpetrators as a harmless commercial venture or a simple means of survival. Today, I am here to clear that misconception and lay bare the severe dangers that the smuggling of foreign rice and other prohibited items poses to us all.
