The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has, again, intercepted a consignment containing 204 pump-action rifles allegedly smuggled into the country from Turkey through the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos.

The seizure was announced on Monday by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, who said the interception underscored the Service’s intelligence-led efforts to prevent the trafficking of firearms through Nigeria’s ports.

Adeniyi was represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General, Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Timi Bomodi.

He recalled that he had earlier in August visited the command to announce the interception of knocked-down firearm components which were subsequently assembled into 399 pump-action rifles.

The 399 riffles, he said, were later handed over to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons.

Bomodi said the latest interception was the result of sustained intelligence gathering and the vigilance of Customs personnel at the port.

He disclosed that a 20-foot container imported from Turkey aboard the vessel MV Algeciras Express on August 16, 2026, was flagged for scrutiny and subjected to a 100 per cent physical examination on August 18.

According to him, the container contained concealed firearm components hidden among declared household goods, including furniture, refrigerators, solar panels and detergents.

“Further discrepancies were also discovered in the consignment documents, particularly regarding the identity of the consignee,” Bomodi said, adding that the inconsistencies formed part of the ongoing investigation into the shipment and those connected to it.

Following the discovery, the Customs Armament Unit and the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, under the Office of the National Security Adviser, constituted a joint team to assemble the recovered components.

The exercise resulted in the recovery of 204 MAS 49 ALTER MAGNUM pump-action rifles, alongside several leftover firearm parts.

The parts included 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 recovered firearms and components 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.

He described the interception as further evidence of heightened surveillance and intelligence-led enforcement by the Customs Service against the illicit movement of firearms through Nigeria’s ports and borders.

The Deputy Comptroller-General also stressed the importance of intelligence-sharing and collaboration among the NCS, the Office of the National Security Adviser and other security agencies in tackling arms trafficking and related criminal activities.

He reiterated Adeniyi’s warning to smugglers, arms traffickers and their collaborators, saying illegal firearms would increasingly find it difficult to pass through Nigeria’s ports undetected.

Bomodi added that the Service’s risk-management system remained robust, warning that those attempting to disguise firearms as household goods or conceal them in containers through false or inconsistent documentation would increasingly be exposed by intelligence gathering, profiling, technology and inter-agency collaboration.