Uche Cecil Izuora
The Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun I Area Command, has seized a luxury passenger bus loaded with military camouflage uniforms and illicit drugs worth ₦259.68 million along the Sagamu–Ore–Benin Expressway.
Acting Customs Area Controller Comptroller Oladapo Afeni announced the seizure while briefing journalists in Idiroko on Monday, calling it one of the Command’s biggest anti-smuggling and anti-narcotics operations in recent months.
Afeni said the operation took place in the early hours of Sunday after officers acted on credible intelligence and maintained sustained surveillance.
The unregistered luxury bus was tracked from Lagos through multiple security checkpoints before being intercepted around 1:30 a.m. as it headed toward Nigeria’s eastern corridor, he said.
Two suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure.
A thorough search of the vehicle revealed a large haul of military apparel hidden in cartons and secret compartments. Police seized 197 pieces of camouflage trousers and shorts, five complete sets of military camouflage uniforms, 32 camouflage tops, 32 camouflage inner wears, and various other military-related clothing items.
Customs officers also uncovered a significant quantity of narcotics concealed within the bus structure. The drugs included 154 parcels of synthetic Cannabis Indica, commonly called Loud, and seven parcels of Colorado, another high-potency cannabis strain.
Preliminary investigations showed the military regalia were meant for unauthorised persons, Afeni said, warning that such items in the hands of criminals pose a serious national security threat.
He explained that illegal circulation of military uniforms allows criminals to impersonate security personnel, facilitating armed robbery, kidnapping, and other violent crimes while eroding public trust in security agencies.
The presence of both illicit drugs and military uniforms in one consignment points to a coordinated criminal network capable of destabilising public order and national security, Afeni said.
He attributed the successful interception to strong intelligence gathering, inter-agency collaboration, and real-time monitoring of suspicious movements along key transport routes.
The Acting Controller confirmed that the seized narcotics and exhibits were formally handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Idiroko Special Command, for further investigation and prosecution.
Deputy Commander Ganiyu Adeyooye, receiving the exhibits on behalf of NDLEA Commander Williams Ekundayo, praised Customs officers for the operation, calling it a powerful show of security agency collaboration in fighting transnational crime.
Adeyooye pledged that NDLEA would launch a thorough investigation to identify and prosecute everyone linked to the consignment and dismantle the trafficking network behind it.
Customs reiterated its commitment to stepping up anti-smuggling and anti-narcotics operations across border corridors and urged the public to support security agencies with timely, credible information to curb cross-border crimes and threats to national security.