The Nigerian Customs Service says it has intercepted more than six hundred thousand bottles of the controlled drugs, codeine.
The consignments which were smuggled into the country through the Onne Port were put on display by the Customs Area 2 Command.
The trafficking of illicit and dangerous drugs poses a serious threat—not just to public health, but to national security.
Despite tighter surveillance at Nigeria’s ports, smugglers are constantly on the lookout for gaps in the system. But luck ran out for some, as officers of the Nigerian Customs Service, Area 2 Command, enforced the agency’s 100% cargo inspection policy.
Their vigilance uncovered 20 containers packed with illegal substances—chief among them, over 600,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
The abuse of codeine and other opioid-based drugs continues to be a silent epidemic in Nigeria.
According to a 2018 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report, over 14 million Nigerians—mostly between the ages of 15 and 64—abuse drugs, with codeine-based cough syrup being a major concern among youths.
Though the identities of the importers remain unknown, the cost of flouting import regulations is steep—over ₦10 billion in seized goods.
While the fate of the seized containers is unknown, some of the products were legally turned over to the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service for further action—a indication of inter-agency cooperation to halt the stream of illegal trafficking.
