The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, has handed over hard drugs seized over 30 years ago to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) following their rediscovery during a warehouse renovation exercise.
The drugs, seized between 1986 and 1987, were uncovered at a Customs operations warehouse during a routine clearance and renovation of old storage facilities that have been in use since the 1980s. Adeniyi said the items were found locked in a cabinet that had been transferred across successive generations of Customs officers, with no record of the key.
According to him, after officers alerted the headquarters, security agencies were invited to ensure the contents were not explosive and following clearance by the police, the cabinet was forced open, revealing various hard drugs that had remained in Customs custody for decades.
Read also:
- Customs intercepts 20 diverted containers worth ₦769.5m in Kano/Jigawa
- NCS partners FAAC on effective revenue generation, trade facilitation strategies
- NCS removes imported goods from export prohibition list
The seized items include 16.4kg of cannabis sativa made up of six blocks and three slabs; 52,168 capsules of quinal barbitone sodium weighing 14.6kg; 246g of permuline tablets; and 220.01g of heroin arranged in parcels. A whitish substance weighing about 2.7kg tested negative during preliminary field tests and has been referred for forensic analysis.
Adeniyi noted that the drugs were seized before the establishment of the NDLEA and were safely kept under lock and key without exposure or compromise. He added that although some substances may have lost potency over time, laboratory tests confirmed that several of the exhibits still tested positive to hard drugs.
Receiving the items, the NDLEA State Commander in Kano, Dahiru Yahaya Lawal, represented by the Deputy Commander, Operations and Training, DCN Bello Garba Jabo, commended the Customs Service for preserving the exhibits for over three decades.
He described the handover as a demonstration of inter-agency cooperation and appreciated the Comptroller-General for ensuring the items were finally transferred to the agency statutorily responsible for handling drug-related offences.
