Customs allegedly seizes another 475 rifles in Lagos

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reportedly intercepted another cache of weapons imported from Turkey through its Tin Can Island Command on Tuesday, September 19, 2017.

According to a report by the Daily Sun, the container, with number CMAU189817/8, is believed to have been used in the attempted smuggling of 475 sets of pump-action riffles.

The shipment allegedly belongs to the same party that attempted to smuggle 1,100 pump action rifles through the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos before it was seized by Customs on September 6.

According to a source at Customs, "The container is owned by the same importer of the 1,100 guns. After a detailed profiling of the importer ordered by the Area Controller, it was discovered that he still has another container inside the port.

"So, officers were asked to fish out the container for examination. But I don’t know why they are hiding the identity of the importer."

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Customs national spokesperson, Joseph Attah, has pleaded for caution, saying that while there's a suspected container under examination, there is no knowledge of the content yet.

The firearms discovered in the previous container intercepted by the agency included 600 pieces of Jojef Magnum black pump action rifles, 300 pieces of Jojef Magnum silver pump action rifles and 200 pieces of Jojef Magnum plastic single-barrelled hunting pump action rifles.