Customs intercepts N3.9bn cocaine inside bus conveying religious books

By Seun Ibiyemi

The Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Friday said its men intercepted a bus conveying religious books which contained cocaine weighing 11.913 kilogrammes with a street value of N3.9 billion.

In a statement by the Spokesman of the Command, Hussain Abdullahi, the command added that a sizeable amount of petroleum products packaged in sacks were also intercepted during the anti-smuggling efforts of the command.

According to the statement, “The Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has initiated offensive patrol against the smuggling of petroleum products along the creeks within the Seme and Badagry axis. This renewed effort led to the interception of large quantities of petroleum products packaged in sacks on Wednesday, 26 January 2022.

“The aforementioned items were successfully evacuated to the command premises where an examination was conducted. 1,065 jerrycans of petroleum products, equivalent to 31,950 litres were discovered with Duty Paid Value of N10,041,198.

“In the same vein, officers and men of the command while conducting stop and search along Seme-Badagry Expressway intercepted 11 parcels of substance suspected to be cocaine in a Ford Transit bus conveying religious books. Also, one suspect has been arrested in connection with the seizure.

“While showcasing the seizure, the Customs Area Controller, Mr Bello Mohammed Jibo, explained that the substance was intercepted at about 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, January 23.

“Consequently, the substance was subjected to test and verification by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and was found to be cocaine weighing 11.913kg.”