Nigeria Customs Service seizes smuggled fuel and drug shipments worth billions

Nigeria Customs Service announced the public auction of 20,500 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) intercepted by Operation Whirlwind at several border points in the south‑west, including Imeko and Seme‑Badagry. The seized fuel and five accompanying vehicles have an estimated duty‑paid value of about ₦38 million. National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind, Deputy Comptroller Lucky Aliyu, said the auction returns the product to the legitimate domestic market and warned that fuel smuggling “deprives the government of critical revenue, distorts the domestic supply chain, encourages artificial scarcity and fuels criminal enterprises.”

In a separate enforcement action at Apapa Port, the Customs Apapa Area Command, together with the NDLEA, uncovered 4,143.5 kg of Cannabis Indica worth roughly ₦26.57 billion hidden among three imported used vehicles. The seizure comprised 162 bags containing 8,287 parcels, with most of the narcotics concealed in the container floor and spaces between the vehicles. Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba said the operation “demonstrates our untiring commitment to ensuring that only lawful trade thrives in Apapa Port.”

Additional reports from the Ogun I Area Command highlighted the interception of contraband valued at over ₦4.6 billion in the first half of 2026, including about 12 tonnes of cannabis destined for the Nigerian market via the Imeko corridor. These combined efforts underscore the Service’s intensified, intelligence‑driven crackdown on illegal fuel exports and large‑scale drug trafficking.