By Efe Onodjae
Barely three weeks after the Nigeria Customs Service intercepted a consignment of knocked-down pump-action rifle components and cannabis-infused snacks at the Tin Can Island Port, the Service has again uncovered arms shipment at the port, seizing 204 pump-action rifles concealed among household goods.
The latest seizure, according to the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, involved a 20-foot container declared as containing used household items. The container, which arrived from Turkey aboard the vessel MV Algeciras Express on August 16, 2026, was flagged for examination two days later following credible intelligence.
A 100 per cent physical examination subsequently led to the discovery of the firearms concealed among furniture, refrigerators, solar panels and detergents.
Speaking at the press briefing on the latest seizure, the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, DCG Timi Bomodi, said the 204 rifles were discovered after intelligence prompted the physical examination of the container.
According to him, discrepancies import documents, particularly regarding the identity of the consignee, with investigations continuing to establish the circumstances surrounding the shipment.
Bomodi said Customs experts, working with officials of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, NCCSALW, under the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, assembled the recovered firearm components.
The exercise, he said, resulted in the identification of 204 MAS 49 ALTER MAGNUM pump-action rifles, alongside several leftover firearm components.
The components included 39 trigger pins, 58 locking lugs, 53 charging handles, 55 pistol grip screws, 56 springs, 56 trigger groups, 38 forward grips or hand guards, 67 forward grip latches, 56 pistol grips, 54 barrels and two U-plates.
Bomodi said the latest interception underscored the continued efforts by the Customs Service to frustrate attempts to smuggle firearms into Nigeria through the nation’s ports.
He recalled that the Comptroller-General, Adeniyi, had during a working visit to the Tin Can Island Port Command on August 18 disclosed the earlier interception of firearm components, which were subsequently assembled into 399 pump-action rifles and handed over to the The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW).
The Customs authorities said the latest seizure demonstrated the importance of intelligence-led enforcement, risk profiling and heightened surveillance in detecting prohibited consignments disguised as legitimate imports.
“The current seizure is a further indication that the Service is maintaining heightened surveillance and intelligence-led enforcement against the illicit movement of firearms through our ports and borders,” Bomodi said.
He disclosed that the seized items had been secured and documented and would be formally handed over to the NCCSALW for appropriate statutory action.
Bomodi further stressed the importance of collaboration among the NCS, ONSA and other security agencies in tackling arms trafficking and related criminal activities.
He warned smugglers, arms traffickers and their collaborators that Customs would continue to frustrate attempts to bring illegal firearms into the country.
According to him, the Service’s risk management system, intelligence gathering, profiling and technological tools had made it increasingly difficult for prohibited items to be disguised as household goods or concealed inside containers.
He said Customs was not interested only in intercepting illicit consignments but was also determined to identify the networks behind the smuggling operations.
“Our objective is to expose the entire chain involved in the illicit movement of firearms, from the source and shipment to the intended destination and beneficiaries,” he said.
Bomodi urged members of the trading public, particularly clearing agents with information capable of leading to the arrest of persons involved in the illegal importation of firearms, to come forward.
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