The Western Marine Command (WMC) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), yesterday, handed over 17 sacks containing 1,257 loaves of Cannabis sativa worth over N96 million to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The sacks were intercepted along Bar Beach, Oniru, Lagos.
Speaking during the event in Apapa, Lagos, the Customs Area Controller of the command, Paul Bamisaiye, said officers, aiming to purge the western waterways of smuggling activities, intercepted the hard drugs weighing 609kg.
He said that at about 11:00 p.m., on May 15, a WMC patrol team at the Bar Beach station received credible intelligence on the movement of a boat on the high sea carrying suspected contraband items.
Bamisaiye said upon receiving the information, the team moved towards the location and intercepted a fiber boat fitted with a 200HP Yamaha engine carrying sacks of the suspected items.
In a related development, on May 19, Bamisaiye said officers and men of the command, while on routine patrol along Panko Creek, Badagry waterways, intercepted a wooden boat fitted with a 25HP Yamaha engine carrying suspected contraband items.
He said the smugglers, upon sighting the patrol boats, abandoned their vessel and dived into the water.
The controller said a careful examination of the items revealed 505 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice and the means of conveyance, with a combined Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N59.2 million.
Bamisaiye said the actions of the smugglers contravene Sections 245 and 254 of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Act 2023, which the command is responsible for enforcing.
Receiving the items, the Assistant Commander of Narcotics, NDLEA Marine Command, Maggaji Bashiru, commended Customs for intercepting the hard drugs, stressing that it proves increased synergy among the sister agencies.
