By Femi Anamelechi
Nigeria Customs Service FOU ZONE A has announced the Interception of contraband worth over N5b within a period of 8 weeks in the South West Nigeria.This was disclosed by the Contractor of FOU Zone A, Comptrroller Gambo Aliyu during a media tour on 5th May 2026 at Nigeria Customs Training College ikeja, Lagos, Comptrroller Aliyu said the seized items include N2.35bn Cocaine, 15 Trailers of Rice and thousands of smuggled contraband, vehicles, and petroleum products, in a major anti-smuggling operation across the South-West. The FOU Zone A, Comptroller Gambo Aliyu highlighted the anti-smuggling activities of the unit over the past eight weeks. According to him, the unit foiled 473 smuggling attempts within the period, leading to the seizure of 8,794 bags of 50kg foreign rice, equivalent to about 15 trailer loads, 22 used vehicles, 328 bales of used clothing, and 31,705 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), a Mercedes-Benz vehicle valued at ₦119, among other items.
Speaking further he pointed out that the rice displayed at the briefing represented cumulative seizures made across the zone at different locations and times.“All the rice you see here are accumulative of seizures carried out at different places, at different times, and through different interdictions across the zone,”.He expressed regrets at the smuggling devastating impact of drug trafficking on society, as many homes have been destroyed because of drug abuse and related criminal activities.“In homes, it will surprise you to know that a lot of homes are broken due to drugs and as a results of drug trafficking. Our mandate is to cut off the supply chain, and that is exactly what we are doing,” Aliyu added.The Comptr. Also pointed out that operatives during the same periods intercepted 531 cartons of foreign poultry products, 1,188 kegs of vegetable oil, 485 used tyres, and several cartons of spaghetti and sugar.
He said the interceptions were as a result of credible intelligence sharing, enhanced surveillance and inter-agency collaboration aimed at enforcing the Federal government’s fiscal economic c policy and renewed fight against economic sabotage He commended of FOU A for their determination and resilience. He also disclosed that in furtherance to the command’s unwavering commitment to the fight antagonist drug trafficking,a special operation code-named “Operation Hawk,” seized 3,340 parcels of synthetic cannabis popularly known as “Ghanaian loud,” weighing 1,540kg, the drugs were pater handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation and prosecution. Comptr. Gambo also disclosed that in another credible intelligence led operation, cylinders of Mercury hidden in a vehicle were intercepted alon the Lagos FOU ZAA corridor. He described the substance as hazardous and regulated under international conventions.The illicit drugs and three suspects were handed over to Commander Mohammed Kabiru of NDLEAfor further investigations.
