- As CG decries surge in unregistered pharmaceuticals, drones
By Steve Agbota
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said that it intercepted expired food items, unregistered pharmaceutical products, and controlled security equipment worth over N912 billion at Apapa Port in Lagos.
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi disclosed this during a press briefing at the Apapa Command, said that the Serivice has intensified enforcement operations to curb smuggling at the nation’s ports.
However, he revealed that the seizures were made between January and April 2025 and involved 11 separate interdictions, comprising five 40-foot containers, two 20-foot containers, and four seizures of loosely concealed contraband.
Giving updates on the rollout of the Customs Unified Management Information System, known as B’Odogwu, he described the pilot phase at PTML and Tin Can Island Port as crucial but not without challenges.
He said that his earlier visits to PTML and Tin Can that morning, before arriving at Apapa, were to gain firsthand insight into the difficulties stakeholders were encountering with the new digital platform.
He admitted that while the B’Odogwu rollout was ambitious and necessary, the service was fully aware that initial implementation would come with its fair share of setbacks.
“We are not pretending that when we roll out a very serious project of that magnitude that there will be no itches,” he said.
He noted that Customs was approaching the situation with flexibility and innovation, holding stakeholder and bank engagements to address the hiccups in the system’s deployment.
On enforcement, he disclosed that the Apapa Command, in line with the national strategic economic development plan and executive orders on port operations, had scaled up surveillance across seaports, airports, and land borders in response to evolving tactics by transnational criminal networks attempting to breach the country’s import protocols.
He raised alarm over the rising influx of unregistered pharmaceutical products, particularly sexual enhancement drugs, into the Nigerian market, warning that such items posed a grave threat to public health and safety.
“Among the seized items were unregistered medicines lacking mandatory certification from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), expired margarine products, and restricted security gadgets including drones and telecommunication devices without end-user certificates from the Office of the National Security Adviser.
“The seizures included 89 cartons of unregistered pharmaceutical products in container CAAU6514500, 242 cartons in container TCNU6880130, and 1,001 cartons of hydra-sildenafil citrate tablets in container MRSU3041714. Another 40-footer container was found to contain 1,400 packages of various unregistered drugs, while a fifth had 805 packages falsely declared as cosmetic powder,” he explained.
According to him, the service also intercepted two 20-foot containers—GCNU1367992 and GCNU1372704—containing expired margarine products. Additionally, 60 units of warrior drones without valid end-user certificates were recovered from container MSKU9329923, valued at N15.9 million.
“Another 53 helicopter drones, evacuated from a container marked CFAX3, carried an estimated duty-paid value of N2.1 million. 10 professional FM transceiver walkie-talkies were also confiscated from ENL, while a 20-footer container (SUDU1408819) was found to contain 500 packages of active medicine tablets lacking NAFDAC certification.
“The analysis of these seizures revealed five key smuggling trends. First was the disturbing proliferation of sexual enhancement drugs, as five of the 11 containers seized were laden with variants of sildenafil citrate and other related substances,” he said.
He warned that the indiscriminate use of these drugs without medical supervision could lead to serious health complications, including cardiovascular risks.
“The second trend identified was a growing pattern of misdeclaration, with importers labeling pharmaceuticals as general merchandise or cosmetics in an attempt to evade detection. Two containers had pharmaceutical products concealed beneath skin creams,” he added.
He said a third trend in the diversification of contraband shipments, with importers mixing pharmaceuticals, expired food, and restricted technology items in a single container. This, he said, suggested the involvement of sophisticated criminal networks rather than isolated smugglers.
‘The fourth trend was the strategic selection of countries with weaker pharmaceutical export controls, indicating a deliberate attempt to exploit regulatory loopholes. Finally, there was the increasing importation of non-pharmaceutical security threats, including drones and communication gadgets, which raised significant concerns for national security,” he said.
The CG emphasized that these seizures were not isolated efforts but part of a broader enforcement drive that has seen the service record 22 narcotics-related interceptions in the first quarter of 2025 alone, with a duty-paid value of N730 billion—a 34.6 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
He credited these results to the service’s intelligence-led enforcement strategy and robust collaboration with regulatory agencies such as NAFDAC, the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Adeniyi warned that the service would not relent in its commitment to securing Nigeria’s borders and protecting the lives of its citizens.
He commended officers and men of the Apapa Command for their vigilance and professionalism, urging stakeholders within the international trade ecosystem to comply strictly with import regulations.
He reiterated that the service’s intelligence network, technological capabilities, and inter-agency collaborations had significantly improved, allowing it to detect and intercept illicit shipments regardless of their concealment methods.
He declared a restricted area around the five containers carrying dangerous pharmaceutical materials, urging all present to maintain a safe distance to avoid any risk of exposure.