The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone ‘A’, Ikeja, Lagos, has dismantled a trans-border smuggling ring specializing in prohibited items, including donkey skins.
The gang was intercepted by Customs officials along the Apapa road in Lagos, leading to the arrest of fourteen suspects who are currently in custody in connection with the seizures.
Among the items seized from the gang were dry donkey skins valued at over ₦6.7 billion. Customs officials reportedly monitored the suspects for over a week before executing the operation.
Addressing reporters in Lagos yesterday, the Area Controller of the Unit, Kolade Oladeji, highlighted the efforts of the Unit in countering smugglers’ strategies to evade customs duty and circumvent import and export prohibitions.
“I can boldly say that the smugglers’ desperation is being confronted with our resistance, causing us to seize their wares and arrest the suspects. On this, we shall remain unrelenting and uncompromising,” Oladeji stated.
He noted that smuggling activities undermine national security, economic development, and the social well-being of citizens. In July 2024, the reinvigorated anti-smuggling campaign by the Customs led to the arrest of 14 male suspects and resulted in 70 seizures with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of ₦8,098,001,199.
The breakdown of these seizures included:
- 6,168 pieces of donkey skins (weighing a total of 29,606 kg),
- 37,630 sachets of 250mg Tramadol,
- 11,820 new machetes,
- 4,740 bags of foreign parboiled rice,
- 978 kg of cannabis sativa,
- 1,145 cartons of poultry products.
Oladeji reiterated that the NCS remains committed to intensifying its clampdown on smuggling activities to safeguard Nigeria’s borders and economy.
