Customs finds second illegal rifle shipment at Tincan Port in 2 weeks

The Nigeria Customs Service on Monday handed over 204 pump-action rifles seized at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, days after the service announced a separate interception of 399 rifles at the same port.

The rifles were assembled from knocked-down firearm components concealed in a 20-foot container that arrived from Turkey aboard the MV Algeciras Express on August 16.

The container, numbered TEMU 184536/9, was flagged based on credible intelligence and subjected to full physical examination on August 18. Customs said the firearm components were concealed among declared used goods, including furniture, refrigerators, solar panels and detergent.

Timi Bomodi, deputy comptroller-general of customs in charge of enforcement, investigation and inspection, who represented Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi at the handover, said discrepancies were also found in the shipment documents, particularly concerning the identity of the consignee.

He said the documentation issues were part of an ongoing investigation into the shipment and the people connected to it.

The seizure contained not only the components needed to assemble the 204 rifles but also spare parts, including 39 trigger pins, 58 locking lugs, 53 charging handles, 55 pistol grip screws, 56 springs, 56 trigger groups, 38 forward grips, 67 forward grip latches, 56 pistol grips, 54 barrels and two U-plates.

Bomodi said the presence of the spare components suggested that investigators needed to look beyond the immediate shipment and establish the wider network involved in the movement and maintenance of firearms.

“For them to have this in constant supply means that there is a need for them to even activate their repair mechanisms for some of these items that could have come in,” he said.

Customs is using data analysis to identify commonalities in firearm consignments and strengthen its risk assessment, Bomodi said.

“We are not just looking at what is included into the manifest. We are taking every other information we can get from the back end,” he said, adding that some information could not be disclosed because the investigation was still ongoing.

The service also said it would seek to identify the people behind the shipment rather than stop at the seizure of the weapons.

“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 beneficiaries,” Bomodi said.

The latest handover comes less than two weeks after Customs announced the interception of another shipment involving 399 pump-action rifles at Tincan Island Port.

At the August 18 briefing on that seizure, Customs said its officers had assembled knocked-down firearm components into 399 rifles after interceptions.

The two seizures underline the scale of the firearms being intercepted through the port, although Customs has not said whether the consignments are connected.

Bomodi said the rifles handed over on Monday would not be allowed back into circulation.

He said any decision on whether the weapons would be deployed or destroyed would be taken at the level of the National Security Adviser, in line with the country’s security interests.

“Be rest assured that these definitely are not going back into society. Full stop,” he said.

Abiodun Alamutu, retired commissioner of police, Southwest zonal director of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, said the centre would register, secure and manage the weapons in line with national procedures and international best practices.

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