An undisclosed number of officers of the Nigerian Customs Service have been held in connection with the illegal importation of 661 pump-action rifles into the country.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), has disclosed.
Ali said three other suspects were arrested in connection with the offence.
He identified them as the importer of the illegal firearms, Oscar Okafor, 51; the clearing agent, Mahmud Hassan, 56 and the man accompanying the truck conveying the arms, Sadique Mustapha, 28.
Ali said the customs officers, who were being detained at the headquarters of the Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, Lagos, were responsible for issuing clearance for the arms at the port of entry.
A customs roving team attached to the Federal Operations Unit, during routine patrol, on January 22, had intercepted a truck marked BDG 265 XG, with a 40 feet container marked PONU/825914/3, along the Mile2-Apapa Road.
A search of the container uncovered 49 boxes, with a total 661 pump-action rifles, carefully concealed beneath steel doors and other items. Further checks revealed that the arms were illegally brought into the country.
The consignment was immediately impounded, and the conveyors arrested.
Ali gave the assurance that every other person involved in the illegal importation would be brought to justice.
Some firearms seized at the Border. 