How Nigeria Customs seized N1.99bn ha-rd drugs, expired flour from Egypt | Read Detail
The Nigeria Customs Service, has revealed that it Seme border area command seized illi-cit drugs, expired flour, among other contrabands from Egypt, worth N1.99bn between September 1 and October 9, 2025, along the Lagos–Abidjan Corridor.
Addressing journalists during his maiden press briefing at the command in Seme Border, the Customs Area Controller, Wale Adenuga, explained that the expired flour, 10,000 bags with a duty-paid value of N1.2bn, was conveyed in five trucks.
Adenuga stated that the expired products posed serious public health risks, which could have led to infections, food poisoning, and long-term health complications if they had entered Nigerian markets.
Seme Border, located in Badagry, Lagos State, is one of Nigeria’s busiest and most sensitive land borders. It connects Nigeria to the Benin Republic and serves as a gateway for trade and movement along the Lagos–Abidjan Corridor, a 1,028-kilometre highway linking five West African countries (Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Ivory Coast). The corridor carries up to 70 per cent of West African trade, making it both a vital economic route and a hotspot for smuggling and cross-border criminal activities.
Over time, the command has intensified efforts to ensure that smugglers are pushed out of business, thereby encouraging legitimate trade.
The Seme Customs boss said that within the review period, the command seized 1,104 parcels of cannabis sativa and 120 packs of tramadol, adding that two suspects had been handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for further investigation.
“Other items seized within the period include 2,043 bags of foreign parboiled rice (50kg each), 150 bales of second-hand clothing, 169 bottles of DSP cough syrup with codeine, and five used vehicles,” Adenuga said.
