The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Area Command, has blocked an attempt to distribute expired pharmaceutical products into the Nigerian market illegally.
According to a statement posted by the Nigeria Customs’ X account on Friday by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Customs, Isah Sulaiman, it also intercepted a total of 1.8 tonnes of Cannabis sativa in a series of intelligence-driven operations coordinated with sister security agencies.
The operations were based on credible intelligence and enhanced risk profiling systems, in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and other relevant regulatory bodies, according to the statement.
He said, “The Command intercepted two 40-foot containers loaded with expired pharmaceutical products allegedly intended for illegal re-labelling and reintroduction into circulation. The Command stated that the combined Duty Paid Value of the intercepted expired pharmaceuticals is N12,784,479,341.72, describing the attempted importation as a significant act of economic sabotage and a threat to public health.
“In one of the major interceptions, officers of the Command seized a 40-foot container numbered CAAU7569127, which was found to contain a large consignment of Cannabis sativa, popularly referred to as ‘Canadian loud.’
“The Command revealed that a total of 3,639 sachets of the illicit substance were recovered, each weighing 500 grammes, for a total estimated weight of about 1,819 kilogrammes (1.81 tonnes).”
Sulaiman added that preliminary field tests confirmed the substance as Cannabis sativa, stating that the drugs were “concealed inside a black Toyota Nissan vehicle, a Toyota Sienna, as well as within bags and drums packed inside the container.”
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Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba, while speaking about the seizure, warned perpetrators to desist from criminal activities, stating that “unpatriotic importers and their collaborators who deliberately engage in smuggling, drug trafficking, and the importation of expired pharmaceuticals are enemies of Nigeria’s progress”
He further reiterated that Apapa Port and all Customs-controlled areas remain under constant surveillance, adding that enforcement operations will continue to be intelligence-driven while ensuring legitimate trade is not hindered.
He added, “We have the intelligence, the technology, and the resolve to identify and apprehend them. Anyone still contemplating these criminal acts should desist immediately, because the consequences will be swift, decisive, and uncompromising.”
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