By Stephen Ubanna
Until his elevation as an Assistant Comptroller General and now redeployed to the Customs Headquarters as a member of the service Management Team, Dera Nnadi, who incidentally was a former Area Controller of Tin-can Island Command, who had handed the baton to Compt. Frank Okechukwu Onyeka, appears to have given the fraudulent importers with their Agents, no breather.
The fraudulent importers who were said to have been involved in false declarations, Concealment and under payment would never forget their experience in a hurry. The then Tin -can Island Area Controller who had set up a very strong Enforcement Unit which could stop at nothing to stop any suspected Container from exiting the port with the active collaboration of the secret informants at the port were said to have continued the job after his redeployment .
It was not surprising why these fraudulent importers who had returned to doing their dirty business of smuggling Contraband goods into the country through the Tin-can Island port are no longer finding it funny.
Recall that as the officer in charge of the Apapa port exit gate, as the then DC.Onyeka , now Compt. Onyeka, was said to have effectively monitored the movement of cargoes in and out of the exit gate with the active collaboration of D DC. Nwanze, the then DC. Overseeing the Command Enforcement Unit, and now Area Controller, Imo/Abia Command, where he was said to have effectively dealt with the fake Aba fake drug and soft drink manufacturers.
The Tin-can Island DC. Enforcement may have cued into the policy thrust of Compt. Onyeka to ensure that no illicit drug found their way into the Nigerian markets through the port. To ensure that the right thing is done at the Tin-can Osland port through proper examination of cargoes. It was not surprising why importers with their Agents who had expected to take advantage of the assumption of duties of Compt. Onyeka at the Tin-can Island Command to penetrate the ranks of the Examination and Enforcement officers to get their falsely declared cargoes exit the port were said to have been disappointed.
Given the reforms that he was said to have introduced at the Tin-can Island port within the few weeks of assumption of duties late last December and now and the intensified monitoring of of the activities at the port , the Customs Comptroller was said to have successfully repeated what Compt. Babatunde Olomu is used to doing at the Apapa port: interception of falsely declared Containers and subject such cargoes to through proper examination to ascertain its true contents. This may have resulted to the seizures of 2 X 20-foot Containers were intercepted between December 2024 and February 27, 2025.
Appearing at the Command Enforcement Unit on Monday , March 10, 2025, in his well-starched Comptroller’s Uniform, like an Army General, going to the war front closely bifurcated by his security details armed to the teeth, and other plain security details loitering around the premises, to checkmate the movement of intruders, he had made a public show of the intercepted and seized illicit drugs by the Command with a warning that this cannot be tolerated under his Leadership.
An elated Compt.Onyeka and handed over to Mitchell Ofoyeju, the Commander, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at Tin Can Island port out station, in the spirit of intra-agency collaboration, amidst cheers from officers.
The tough talking Customs Comptroller, had said that 2 X 2oft Container which were intercepted and seized at different times by officers of the Command’s Enforcement Unit, had been falsely declared to be carrying fairly used vehicles and auto spare parts originating from the North American country of Canada.
The Tin-can Island Area Controller had said that the first ‘’20’’ Container that was intercepted and seized by the Command, with registration No. MSMU 838666/3 was made in Dec. 12, 2024 but after thorough examination was found to contain 97 packets of Crystals Methamphetamine weighing a total of 78.3 kg with an estimated street market value of N2 billion, 1,735 packets of Cannabis Indica weighing 867.5 kg, is valued at about N5,64 billion. The cumulative total value of the seized illicit drugs by the Tin-can Island Command, according to Valuation experts was about N8.1 billion.
He was said to have stated further that the second Container, with registration No. TCNU 194586/1, was intercepted on February 27, 2025, but found to contain 28 packets of Cannabis Indica, weighing a total of 63.75 kg, which Valuation experts is about N414.4 million.
Giving an insider information of the seized items, the Tin-can Island Command, boss had said that the illicit drugs were intercepted due to high level intelligence gathered by officers of the Command, in collaboration with the NDLEA officials at the port.
Going by what Compt. Onyeka is currently doing to sanitize the Tin-can Island port t clear all the bad eggs and only allow genuine importers with their agents to operate at the port which was formerly haven for Machine Outside and other importers with their Agents who are used to false declaration, may have sent a message to them that the game is up.
Compt. Onyeka, who has made the officers of the Command to follow his foot-steps in doing their jobs had said that seizures of Contraband items by the Command in the recent time underscores its dedication ‘’to safeguarding the nation from being flooded with illicit drugs’’.
He was said to repeatedly said at every given opportunity of interacting with the importers and Freight-Forwarders of the Command’s commitment ‘’to facilitating trade while remaining vigilant against the activities of fraudulent importers with their Agents which threatens the national security and public health do thrive.
Already, the Command, over the last two months had changed its operational strategies to effectively to checkmate and combat the smuggling of illicit drugs into the country through the Lagos port.
Appealing to all fraudulent importers with their Agents and other stakeholders involved in illegitimate trade to turn a new leaf and support the efforts of the Command in maintaining Nigerian maritime borders, both land and sea, he, he stated that it is the only way they can operate at the port and exit their cargoes with ease.
