The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Tin Can Island Port Command, has intercepted 204 pump-action rifles concealed among declared household goods in a 20-foot container imported from Turkey.
The seizure followed credible intelligence received by the Service, leading officers to flag the container, numbered TEMU 184536/9, for examination. The container arrived at the Tin Can Island Port aboard the vessel MV Algeciras Express from Turkey on August 16, 2026, and was subjected to a 100 per cent physical examination on August 18.
During the examination, Customs officers discovered knocked-down firearm components concealed among declared used household items, including furniture, refrigerators, solar panels and detergent.
Further discrepancies were also identified in the consignment documents, particularly regarding the identity of the consignee. Authorities said the discrepancies form part of an ongoing investigation into the shipment and individuals connected to it.
Following the discovery, the Customs Command constituted a joint team comprising personnel from the Nigeria Customs Service Armament Unit and the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) under the Office of the National Security Adviser to examine and assemble the recovered components.
The exercise resulted in the identification of 204 MAS 49 ALTER MAGNUM pump-action rifles, alongside several leftover firearm components.
The recovered components included 39 trigger pins, 58 locking lugs, 53 charging handles, 55 pistol-grip screws, 56 springs, 56 trigger groups, 38 forward grips or handguards, 67 forward-grip latches, 56 pistol grips, 54 barrels and two U-plates.
Speaking at a press briefing on the interception, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, DCG Timi Bomodi, described the seizure as another demonstration of the Service’s intelligence-led approach to combating arms trafficking.
Bomodi said the latest interception underscored the importance of sustained intelligence gathering, risk profiling and inter-agency cooperation in preventing illicit firearms from entering Nigeria through its ports and borders.
He disclosed that the recovered firearms 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.
The Customs Service also stressed that its investigation would go beyond the physical seizure of the weapons, with efforts ongoing to identify and track the individuals and networks behind the consignment.
Bomodi warned smugglers, arms traffickers and their collaborators that the Service would continue to strengthen its surveillance and enforcement systems, making it increasingly difficult to conceal prohibited items in legitimate consignments.
The latest seizure comes shortly after the Tin Can Island Port Command intercepted another shipment of knocked-down firearm components which were subsequently assembled into 399 pump-action rifles and handed over to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons.
The repeated interceptions have heightened attention on attempts to use Nigeria’s ports as channels for the movement of illegal firearms, while authorities continue to strengthen intelligence sharing and collaboration among security agencies to disrupt arms trafficking networks.