Customs seize container with 440 guns imported from Turke

Anna Okon
The Nigeria Customs Service , Tin Can Island Command , on Tuesday , intercepted a container laden with 440 arms and ammunition of various sizes and designs .
Speaking about the seizure, the zonal commander , Tin Can Island command , Monday Abue , who represented the Comptroller - General , NCS , Col . Hameed Ali ( retd . ), said that the cargo was shipped from Turkey .
He said that the consignment was declared as Plaster of Paris by the importer .
READ : Customs intercept 661 pump -action rifles in Lagos
Abue explained that the container with registration number PONU 210024 /1 , was picked up based on intelligence report , adding that investigations were ongoing to unmask the importer .
According to him , the pump - action rifles were manufactured in the United States of America and Italy .
He said , “ They are pump - action rifles of various designs and also the single -barrelled devices that you are familiar with .
“ We discovered that they used POP to conceal the importation. We have arrested one defendant but due to security reasons, we don ’ t want to make it public for now because such information could hamper investigations which are still ongoing . ”
According to Abue , the nation had been saved from another round of problem that the rifles would have caused .
The PRO of the command , Uche Eiesieme , in a statement issued after the press briefing , listed the rifles seized as 100 pieces of Black Tornado single - barrelled rifles, 75 pieces of Silver Magnum single - barrelled rifles, 50 pieces of Altar pump - action rifles, 215 pieces of Black single - barrelled rifles, among other accessories .
The development is coming after a similar seizure of 661 pump - action rifles early in the year by the NCS , Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘ A’ , Ikeja , along the Mile Two- Apapa Road in Lagos .
PHOTOS : 661 pump - action rifles seized by Customs in Lagos
The rifles, according to the Comptroller - General of the NCS , were imported from Turkey and routed through the Apapa port.
Meanwhile , Sifax Group , owners of Ports and Cargoes Handling Services limited , has refuted the report carried by several online news media that the seizure was made inside the ports and cargo terminal .
The rebuttal was communicated to our correspondent on the telephone by the Corporate Affairs Manager , Sifax Group , Olumuyiwa Akande, on Tuesday .
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