The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), TinCan Island Command, has intercepted a consignment containing 204 pump-action rifles concealed among declared household goods imported from Turkey.
The seizure, according to the Command, followed credible intelligence and sustained surveillance aimed at preventing the illegal importation and circulation of firearms in Nigeria.
Speaking at the press briefing on the latest seizure, the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, DCG Timi Bomodi, said the 204 rifles were discovered after intelligence prompted the physical examination of the container.
DCG Timi Bomodi, said a 22-foot container marked TEMU-184536-9, which arrived from Turkey aboard the vessel MB Adjisiraz Express on August 16, 2026, was flagged for examination.
The container, he said, was subjected to a 100 per cent physical examination on August 18, during which officers discovered knocked-down firearm components concealed among declared items including furniture, refrigerators, solar panels and detergents.
The examination also revealed discrepancies in the consignment documents, particularly concerning the identity of the consignee. The discrepancies, the Command said, formed part of an ongoing investigation into the shipment and individuals connected with it.
Following the discovery, the Command assembled experts from the NCS Armament Unit and the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons under the Office of the National Security Adviser to assemble the firearm components.
The exercise resulted in the recovery of 204 pump-action rifles, alongside various leftover firearm components.
Bomodi said the seizure demonstrated the effectiveness of intelligence-led enforcement, risk profiling, technological tools and inter-agency cooperation in tackling arms trafficking through Nigeria’s ports and borders.
He said the seized items had been secured and documented and would be formally handed over to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons for appropriate statutory action.
Bomadi also recalled that, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, had visited the TinCan Island Command and briefed journalists on another major interception involving knocked-down firearm components which were subsequently assembled into 399 pump-action rifles before being handed over to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons.
He warned smugglers, arms traffickers and their collaborators that the Customs Service had strengthened its surveillance and enforcement architecture and would continue to make it increasingly difficult for prohibited firearms to enter the country.
He said attempts to disguise firearms as household goods, conceal them in containers or use false and inconsistent documentation would be detected through intelligence gathering, profiling, technology and collaboration among security agencies.
“The Service will continue to collaborate with all relevant authorities to identify, intercept and investigate consignments that pose a threat to national security,” he said.
He added that the focus of the Service would go beyond the seizure of prohibited items to identifying and dismantling the networks behind the illegal movement of firearms.
“Our objective is to expose the entire chain involved in the illicit movement of firearms, from the source and shipment to the intended destination and its beneficiaries,” he said.
The Customs Service also appealed to members of the trading public, particularly clearing agents, with useful information on the importation of illicit firearms to come forward and assist security agencies in apprehending those behind such activities.
The Command described such assistance as a patriotic responsibility, stressing that intelligence sharing among government agencies and the public remained critical to combating arms trafficking and other criminal activities at Nigeria’s ports and borders.
