Customs CG Hands Over N9.23bn Worth Of Illicit Drugs to NAFDAC At Apapa Port
Customs CG Hands Over N9.23bn Worth Of Illicit Drugs to NAFDAC At Apapa Port
….N1.6 billion is Expected to be recovered by the Service, Adeniyi
By Success Okezie
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, on Friday led the Controller of Apapa Port Command , Babatunde Olomu and other senior officer of the Command hand over 25 seized containers worth N9,235,402,973 to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) at Apapa Port on July 11, 2025. as required by the agencies establishing acts.
These containers were laden with unregistered/prohibited pharmaceutical products,
The items included sexual enhancement drugs such as REDSUN and HYEGRA (sildenafil citrate products), codeine-containing cough syrups like CSC brands, antibiotic injections including oxytetracycline and artesunate, pain relief medications with diclofenac sodium and paracetamol, skin-lightening creams marketed as GBOGBONISE and SKIN CHEMIST, hip and breast enlargement products, as well as various tablets bearing fake NAFDAC registration numbers.
While handing over the contrabands, the Customs boss, Adeniyi said the unediting incidents of heavy importation and smuggling of illicit, substandard and expired medications into Nigeria represented a sophisticated network of criminal enterprises that deliberately exploit regulatory gaps to compromise the country’s health security.
He noted that a detailed breakdown of the seizures reveals disturbing patterns of misdeclaration and systematic attempts to circumvent established import protocols.
“The 25 containers comprise 21 forty-foot containers and four twenty-foot containers containing predominantly unregistered pharmaceutical products including sexual enhancement drugs such as REDSUN and HYEGRA sildenafil citrate products, codeine-containing cough syrups including CSC brands, antibiotic injections like oxytetracycline and artesunate, pain relief medications containing diclofenac sodium and paracetamol, and various tablets bearing fake NAFDAC registration numbers,” Adeniyi said.
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“The seizures also include expired food products such as margarine and chocolate, veterinary medications including albendazole bolus tablets, antimalarial drugs like artepharm-artequick, and consumer goods such as crusader soap, reflecting a sophisticated and diversified contraband portfolio that poses significant threats to public health, consumer safety, and regulatory integrity.”
The Customs CG however, assured that the service remained committed to making the seaports, airports, and land borders a nightmare for smugglers and criminal importers.
“We have made our ports and borders impenetrable barriers against smuggling operations through our unrelenting nationwide anti-contraband initiatives. Our intelligence-led enforcement strategy, enhanced by real-time collaboration with regulatory agencies, has fundamentally transformed our operational capabilities,” Adeniyi said.
Adeniyi noted that the operational synergy Customs has developed with NAFDAC reflects strategic collaboration at its finest, with the Director-General providing critical intelligence even at midnight about suspicious importations that proves decisive to our anti-smuggling operations.
“This MOU-facilitated coordination enables swift responses to emerging threats, and I commend the Director-General and her dedicated team whose technical expertise, combined with our enforcement capabilities, has created a formidable barrier against criminal networks seeking to compromise our borders,”
CGC disclose that an additional N1.6 billion is expected to be recovered by the Service by the end of this month.
He also said: “Earlier in the year, the NCS the Post Clearance Audit was established and the unit is now headed by an Assistant General of Customs reporting directly to the CGC.
“They have undertaken some audits. And they use the risk profiles of companies, looked at declarations and flagged those with infractions. For those that have to do with violation of regulatory procedures and laws, we are not going to compromise.”
The Customs boss explained that through thorough enforcement, the service can curb instances of violations of trade laws while improving revenue generation.
“This means that some bonded terminals will have to be closed and licenses revoked. It would no longer be a question of suspension of license. The process is still on and when we are done we will let you know he assured.
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