Nigerian Customs Services operatives confiscated more than 800 rifles and 100,000 rounds of ammunition hidden in a shipping container on Monday, underlining the country’s fight against firearm trafficking, which has been linked to an increase in crime.
Customs Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi stated that the firearms discovered on June 21 were stashed in a container alongside furniture and other commodities that had been loaded in Turkey. The haul contained a variety of rifle models and ammunition.
“We have three suspects in our custody after securing a detention warrant from a competent court,” Adeniyi told reporters, adding that investigations were ongoing.
The rifles and ammunition would be turned over to the office of Nigeria’s security adviser for further investigation and prosecution, Adeniyi stated.
On June 29, officials seized over a million bottles of codeine cough syrup and millions of prescription painkiller tablets, he added.
Opioid abuse is rampant in Nigeria, and traffickers frequently smuggle codeine cough syrup.
Adeniyi said the containers loaded with the medicines were wrongly declared in an attempt to evade Nigerian Customs Services duties and import restrictions.