The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), has destroyed 64 containers of illicit and illegally imported pharmaceutical products at Omagwa, Ikwerre LGA of Rivers State.

Speaking to journalists after the destruction, the NSA, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, said ONSA acted immediately upon receiving intelligence about the illicit drugs entering the country.

Represented by Commodore Kelechi Ogbonna, Ribadu explained that a multi-agency committee was formed last year, comprising officials from ONSA, NCS, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), among others, to track and seize illicit pharmaceuticals.

He noted that the committee’s primary goal was to locate substandard, counterfeit and illegal drugs, including narcotics like tramadol and codeine, which are often abused and linked to criminal activities such as banditry and terrorism.

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Assistant Comptroller General of Customs (ACG) in charge of enforcement, inspection, and investigation, Timi Bomadi, who also chairs the committee overseeing the destruction, reiterated that the operation aims to eliminate illegally imported drugs.

He said the committee was mandated to identify, isolate, evacuate and destroy illicit pharmaceuticals, which pose serious threats to public health and national security.

He confirmed that the operation, the second phase following Lagos, involves the destruction of 64 containers, each 40 feet in size, with a combined market value running into hundreds of billions of naira.