NIGERIAN CUSTOMS SEIZE OVER 800 RIFLES AND 100,000 ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION IN ANTI-TRAFFICKING OPERATION

Mon 01 July 2024:

Nigerian customs agents have confiscated more than 800 rifles and 100,000 rounds of ammunition hidden in a shipping container, underscoring the country’s ongoing battle against firearm trafficking amid rising crime rates, Reuters reported.

Customs Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi announced that the weapons, discovered on June 21, had been concealed in a container alongside furniture and other goods from Turkey. The haul included various rifle models and ammunition.

TEXT OF A PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF CUSTOMS, BASHIR ADEWALE ADENIYI MFR, AT THE NIGERIA CUSTOMS SERVICE PORT HARCOURT AREA II COMMAND, ONNE ON 1 JULY 2024 pic.twitter.com/L6XZYTqtws

— NIGERIA CUSTOMS (@CustomsNG) July 1, 2024

“We have three suspects in our custody after securing a detention warrant from a competent court,” Adeniyi informed reporters, adding that investigations were ongoing. He stated that the rifles and ammunition will be handed over to the office of Nigeria’s security adviser for further investigation and prosecution.

Nigeria Customs Service Intercepts 844 Riffles, 112,500 Rounds of Ammunition in Onne pic.twitter.com/Dx4AgPhjiw

— NIGERIA CUSTOMS (@CustomsNG) July 1, 2024

In a separate customs operation on June 29, officials seized over a million bottles of codeine cough syrup and millions of prescription painkiller tablets.

Adeniyi noted that opioid abuse is rampant in Nigeria, with traffickers frequently smuggling codeine cough syrup. He explained that the containers loaded with the medicines were wrongly declared to avoid customs duties and import restrictions.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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