Nigerian Customs officers have recorded one of their most significant drug interceptions of the year seizing nearly 340,000 bottles of codeine-containing syrup carefully concealed inside household utensils at Apapa Port in Lagos.
The operation took place on Sunday March 15, 2026, when officers of the Nigeria Customs Service Apapa Area Command, working in joint collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, intercepted two containers containing a total of 3,398 cartons equivalent to 339,800 bottles of codeine-containing syrup at the Apapa Port. The cumulative Duty Paid Value of the seizure stands at N3,398,000,000.
The first container, bearing the number MRKU 3816476, was found to contain 1,700 cartons equivalent to 170,000 bottles of CSP Codeine concealed alongside 38 cartons of pearl plating insulated casseroles and bullet insulated hotpots.
The second container, number TGBU 5399178, contained 1,698 cartons or 169,800 bottles of the same substance concealed with 36 cartons of pearl plating casseroles. In both cases the drugs had been carefully packed among legitimate-looking household goods in an attempt to evade detection at the port.
The interception came just five days after Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi visited Apapa Port and publicly declared that the facility was no longer a playground for smugglers or criminal syndicates hiding behind legitimate trade documentation.
The seizure is part of a broader enforcement surge at Apapa Port in recent weeks.
Just one week earlier on March 10, 2026, the Apapa Area Command intercepted 13 containers of expired drugs, food items and restricted security equipment worth N6.38 billion at the same port , bringing the total value of contraband intercepted at Apapa in less than two weeks to nearly N10 billion.
Codeine-containing syrup has been at the centre of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical abuse crisis for years. The substance, when consumed in excess quantities outside of legitimate medical prescription, is highly addictive and has been widely documented as a major driver of drug dependency particularly among young Nigerians in the north and other parts of the country.
The seized consignments have been handed over to the NDLEA for further investigation. No arrests have been publicly announced at the time of this report.
