The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says its operatives
intercepted 55 pieces of unassembled semi-automatic rifles at the Murtala
Muhammed International Airport (MMA), Lagos.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Adewale
Adeniyi, comptroller-general (CG) of customs, said the consignment, worth over
N270 million, was intercepted on June 19.

“On 19th June 2024, the MMA 2 command deployed personnel to
man all exit points effectively and mandated examination of all consignments as
a result of the tip-off that we got,” he said.

“During the examination, an item was discovered and
suspected to be part of a rifle from a consolidated consignment that had an
airway bill with the number 235/587737755, which originated from Turkiye, was
intercepted.

 

 “Consequently, the
entire consignment was isolated from the rest for further examination. At the
end of this process, it was established that four packages inside this
consignment were used to conceal 55 pieces of unassembled Magnum Tomahawk
semi-automatic short guns.

“These rifles were concealed using shower faucets. The
duty-paid value of these illicit arms is N270, 888, 109. We are not
particularly interested in the value of this; we are interested in the danger
it represents for national security.”

Adeniyi said a suspect in connection with the illegal
importation is already in the agency’s custody, assisting with ongoing
investigations to uncover the perpetrators of the crime.

Two days ago, customs said its officials seized 844 units of
rifles and 112,500 pieces of live ammunition at the Onne port in Rivers state.

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