The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command, has handed over 25 containers filled with unregistered and banned products to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
During the official handover ceremony on Friday, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, said the seized goods, valued at N9.2 billion in duty paid terms, reflect a highly organized criminal network exploiting regulatory loopholes to threaten public health.
“These 25 containers, comprising counterfeit medicines, unregistered pharmaceuticals, and banned substances — including codeine-based syrups — pose serious risks to national health security,” Adeniyi said.
Providing further details, Adeniyi explained that the seized items were packed in 21 forty-foot and 4 twenty-foot containers.
Among the items were unregistered sexual enhancement drugs such as Redsun and Hyegra sildenafil citrate, various brands of codeine-laced cough syrups like CSC, fake antibiotic injections including oxytetracycline and artesunate, and tablets with counterfeit NAFDAC registration numbers.
Other products included expired margarine and chocolates, veterinary drugs like albendazole bolus tablets, antimalarials such as artepharm-artequick, and consumer items like Crusader soap — all forming part of what he called a “diversified and dangerous contraband portfolio.”
Adeniyi said the seizure and handover represent the ongoing success of an enforcement partnership formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between NCS and NAFDAC in November 2024.
“With the recent inauguration of the MoU implementation committee, we are seeing concrete results in the fight against harmful food and pharmaceutical products,” he noted, adding that the framework enables joint investigations, intelligence sharing, and coordinated enforcement against criminal syndicates.
He also cited the collaboration with NAFDAC and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) under the supervision of the Office of the National Security Adviser, which has led to the seizure of over 200 containers. Of these, 63.7% were found to contain unregistered pharmaceuticals.
Reaffirming the Customs Service’s stance, Adeniyi warned all players in the trade sector — including bonded terminal operators and transporters — that complicity in smuggling will be met with strict legal action.
“Our advanced intelligence systems and surveillance tools are more effective than ever. Smugglers will find no safe passage through our ports, airports, or land borders,” he said.
Receiving the handover, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye — represented by Assistant Director, Ports Inspection, Ayobami Ibrahim — reiterated the agency’s resolve to eliminate fake and substandard products from Nigeria’s markets.
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She acknowledged the persistent challenges posed by porous channels of importation and called on Nigerians to support regulatory agencies by reporting suspicious activities.
“Our partnership with Customs has grown stronger, and we are determined to prevent these dangerous products from reaching consumers,” she said, stressing the need for continuous joint vigilance to protect public health.
