EXPOSED: ‘Drug barons recruiting Customs officers, staff of bonded terminals’

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, has revealed that drug barons are increasingly recruiting customs officers and officials of bonded terminals into their drug trafficking operations to evade security checks.

Adeniyi disclosed that the NCS had made significant progress in identifying such corrupt elements within and outside the service who facilitated the movement of drug consignments without proper examination, reports Daily Trust.

Speaking at an event showcasing a major drug seizure at the Tin-Can Port, Adeniyi emphasised that those involved would face severe legal consequences.

During the weekend, Adeniyi displayed approximately N4.2bn worth of seized hemp, highlighting that the NCS was intensifying its scrutiny on the activities of “unscrupulous customs officers” to eliminate them from the system, noting that some indicted officers were found to be collaborating with bonded terminal operators to expedite the clearance of drug shipments.

He said, “I assure you that the service will soon name, shame and arrest those involved. The modus operandi of the syndicate involves moving imported containers from the port on transit without proper examination, diverting them to private premises instead of bonded warehouses.”

He acknowledged the collaborative efforts of sister agencies, particularly the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), in combating drug trafficking.