The Joint Border Patrol Team, Sector 2, South-West Lagos, has intercepted contraband goods worth N36 billion, including six pump-action rifles and 1,125 live cartridges, since its inception in August 2019.
The team’s coordinator, Mohammed Shuaibu, a Deputy Controller of Customs, disclosed this during a media briefing in Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday.
He revealed that the latest interception involved pump-action rifles and cartridges concealed in a sack of cassava flakes along the Okerete-Ododo bush path in Oyo State.
Shuaibu explained that the firearms, loaded in a Toyota saloon car, were seized last week as part of the team’s ongoing operations to combat illegal activities along Nigeria’s borders.
“Between August 2019 and now, the team intercepted 130,954 bags of foreign rice, 218 truckloads of contraband, 7,200kg of pangolin scales, 5,575,020 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, 11,322 cartons of foreign frozen products, 4,124 bales of used clothes, 4,057 kegs of vegetable oil, 15 pump-action rifles, and numerous other contrabands,” Shuaibu said.
He added that 1,507 illegal immigrants and 280 suspected cases of human trafficking were also recorded during the period.
Additionally, 480 vehicles and 1,190 means of conveyance used in smuggling operations were impounded.
The seized items had a cumulative duty-paid value of N36.7 billion, according to Shuaibu, who noted that the team also contributed N1.1 billion to the federation account through auction sales of seized petroleum products.
He emphasized that the team’s operations had significantly disrupted the supply chains of illicit goods with national security implications, while also boosting government revenue.
“National security has been enhanced through the seizure of goods with security concerns, while proceeds from the sales of petroleum products further support the government’s revenue base,” he stated.
Shuaibu’s remarks highlighted the alarming proliferation of illegal arms in Nigeria. Reports by the Institute of Security Studies indicate that the country accounts for 70 percent of the 500 million illegal weapons circulating in West Africa.
Another estimate places the number of small arms held by civilians in Nigeria at approximately 6.15 million.
The Joint Border Patrol Team was established in response to the growing security challenges along Nigeria’s international borders, including the smuggling of weapons, drugs, and prohibited goods.
Managed by the Office of the National Security Adviser, the team operates with the collaboration of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Police, Immigration Service, Department of State Services, and the National Intelligence Agency, with the Nigeria Customs Service as the lead agency.
Shuaibu reaffirmed the team’s commitment to improving security along the nation’s borders and curbing the influx of contraband and other illicit activities.
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