By ZAKAA LAZARUS
The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Tin Can Island Port Command, has intercepted 204 MAS 49 Alter Magnum pump-action rifles and several firearm components concealed in a 20-foot container imported from Turkey.
The latest seizure comes barely three weeks after the Command intercepted and subsequently assembled 399 Jojef pump-action rifles and 535 assorted firearm components from another container at the port.
Addressing newsmen on Monday, Deputy Comptroller General of Customs, DCG, Enforcement and Investigation, Timi Bomodi, said the consignment, with container number TEMU 184536/9, arrived from Turkey aboard MV Algeciras Express on August 16, 2026.
He said the container was flagged for a 100 per cent physical examination two days later following credible intelligence.
“During the examination, Customs officers discovered knocked-down firearm components concealed among declared household and other goods, including furniture, refrigerators, solar panels and detergent,” Bomodi said.
He explained that further discrepancies were also discovered in the shipment documents, particularly concerning the identity of the consignee, adding that the discrepancies had become part of an ongoing investigation into the consignment and persons connected to it.
“Following the discovery, the Command assembled experts from the NCS 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 assemble the components.
“The exercise produced 204 complete MAS 49 Alter Magnum pump-action rifles, alongside various leftover firearm components,” he said.
Components recovered 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 earlier, the Customs Area Controller, Tin-Can Command, Joseph Anani, said this seizure was not the first of its kind this month.
“We have witnessed similar handovers, including the recent occasion when the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, handed over seized items to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons and illicit drugs to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA,” he said.
The latest interception brings the number of rifles recovered from the two major Tin Can Island operations to 603, excluding the numerous firearm components recovered from both consignments.
