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Nigeria Customs Service officers attached to the Kano-Jigawa Area Command intercepted contraband with a combined duty paid value of more than 1 billion naira between January 1 and March 10, 2026, the command’s acting controller disclosed on Tuesday, detailing a series of intelligence-led operations at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport and along key highways in Nigeria’s northwest.
The total value of seized goods across the period stood at N1,018,971,728.02, according to the acting area controller, Deputy Comptroller Usman Adamu, who addressed journalists at the command’s Kano headquarters. The haul covered undeclared foreign currencies, smuggled commercial vehicles, precious metals, controlled pharmaceuticals, used tyres, and wildlife, reflecting what Adamu described as a broadening pattern of illicit cross-border activity in the region.
The most significant single seizure by value involved pharmaceuticals. Officers intercepted 503 master cartons of Pregabalin 300mg, marketed under the brand name Nervigesic, containing more than 15 million capsules at the Skyway Aviation Handling Company facility within the airport, with an estimated value of N729.9 million.
Pregabalin, a prescription anticonvulsant and neuropathic pain drug, has been subject to growing enforcement attention across West Africa due to its widespread abuse as a recreational substance. The consignment has been transferred to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control for examination.
At the airport’s passenger terminals, officers acting on credible intelligence intercepted two individuals attempting to board international flights without declaring foreign currency in their possession. The seizures, made on January 5, included $106,500, 134,256 Saudi riyals, 28 Chinese yuan, and 20 Ghanaian cedis. Under the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, travellers are required to declare foreign currency holdings exceeding the equivalent of $10,000 at all entry and exit points. Both suspects and the seized funds were transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Kano for investigation and prosecution.
A separate airport interception took place on February 18, when an outbound passenger was stopped during baggage screening. Officers discovered 22.80 kilograms of suspected silver bars concealed inside the passenger’s luggage, with an estimated value of N116.28 million. The passenger, identified in EFCC handover records as Abduelhafeez Ibrahim, had presented no export documentation and made no declaration, in contravention of Section 55(f) of the NCS Act 2023. The acting controller formally handed the suspect and the precious metals over to EFCC Kano Zonal Director Friday Ebelo, who confirmed that a thorough investigation would follow.
Highway operations yielded further results. On January 20 and 22, officers intercepted two brand-new Dongfeng vehicles along the Kano-Hadejia and Maiduguri roads, with a duty paid value of N97.7 million. Concealed inside one of the trucks were six silver metal bars weighing 12.2 kilograms, valued at N61 million. Adamu said the vehicles had been smuggled into Nigeria from Libya via the Niger Republic, a route that enforcement officials have identified as an increasingly active corridor for contraband goods entering northern Nigeria.
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A separate land operation on January 14 resulted in the seizure of 1,447 pieces of used pneumatic tyres along the Yan Awaki axis of the Kano Eastern Bypass, with a duty paid value of N28.2 million. The importation of used tyres is restricted under Nigerian trade regulations due to safety and environmental concerns, and their seizure has been a recurring feature of customs enforcement activity across northern states.
Among the more unusual items intercepted during the period was a live lion cub and a consignment of pangolins, both believed to have been trafficked in violation of international wildlife protection regulations.
The lion cub was handed to wildlife conservation specialists pending the outcome of an investigation into those responsible for the attempted trafficking. Nigeria is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and pangolins, among the world’s most trafficked mammals, are listed under its highest protection category.
The Kano-Jigawa command’s quarterly disclosures come against the backdrop of a broader national enforcement push. Customs Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi said in January that the service recorded approximately 2,500 seizures with a combined value of N59 billion across all commands during 2025, covering narcotics, counterfeit pharmaceuticals, wildlife products, arms and ammunition, and substandard consumer goods. At the Apapa Command in Lagos, officers separately intercepted 13 containers of expired drugs and restricted security equipment valued at N6.38 billion at Apapa Port within the past week.
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The EFCC’s Kano zonal office has confirmed receipt of both the currency and precious metals cases from the Kano-Jigawa command. The commission has described undeclared cash movements as a national security matter, stating that illegal cash flows have served as a financing mechanism for terrorism, banditry, and transnational crime networks operating across the region.
Adamu said operations across Kano and Jigawa states were continuing, and that the command would maintain joint surveillance along identified smuggling corridors. Prosecution proceedings before the EFCC in connection with the currency and precious metals cases are expected to proceed in the coming weeks, though no trial dates have been publicly confirmed.
