- Adewale Adeniyi revealed drug barons are recruiting customs officers and bonded terminal officials into their drug trafficking operations
- Adeniyi displayed N4.2 billion worth of seized hemp, emphasizing severe legal consequences for those involved in facilitating drug consignments
Adewale Adeniyi, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has disclosed that drug barons are increasingly recruiting customs officers and bonded terminal officials into their drug trafficking operations to evade security checks.
Adeniyi revealed that the NCS had made significant progress in identifying corrupt individuals within and outside the service who facilitated the movement of drug consignments without proper examination.
Speaking at an event showcasing a major drug seizure at the Tin-Can Port, Adeniyi emphasized that those involved would face severe legal consequences.
Over the weekend, Adeniyi displayed approximately N4.2 billion worth of seized hemp, highlighting that the NCS was intensifying its scrutiny of the activities of “unscrupulous customs officers” to eliminate them from the system. He noted that some indicted officers were found to be collaborating with bonded terminal operators to expedite the clearance of drug shipments.
He stated, “I assure you that the service will soon name, shame, and arrest those involved. The syndicate’s modus operandi involves moving imported containers from the port in transit without proper examination, diverting them to private premises instead of bonded warehouses.”
Adeniyi acknowledged the collaborative efforts of sister agencies, particularly the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), in combating drug trafficking.