Customs Intercepts 204 Pump-Action Rifles Hidden in Household Goods at Tin Can Port

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The Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted 204 pump-action rifles concealed among used household items at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos, in another major firearms seizure recorded at the port within weeks.

The latest interception involved a 20-foot container declared as carrying used household goods but which Customs officers said contained dismantled firearm components hidden among furniture, refrigerators, solar panels and detergent.

The container, identified as TEMU 184536/9, arrived from Turkey aboard the MV Algeciras Express on August 16, 2026. Acting on intelligence, Customs officers flagged the shipment for further examination and conducted a full physical inspection two days later.

The inspection reportedly uncovered discrepancies between the contents of the container and the items declared in the shipping documents.

Customs also said questions were raised about the identity of the consignee, with the documentation now forming part of an ongoing investigation into the shipment.

The firearm components were subsequently examined and assembled by a joint team from the Customs Armament Unit and the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW).

According to Customs, the exercise produced 204 MAS 49 Alter Magnum pump-action rifles.

Additional firearm components were also recovered, including trigger pins, locking lugs, charging handles, springs, trigger groups, grips and barrels.

The weapons were later formally handed over to NCCSALW, which operates under the Office of the National Security Adviser.

The latest seizure is particularly significant because it comes only weeks after the Tin Can Island Port Command announced the interception of another large shipment of firearms.

In the earlier case, Customs said a container that arrived on July 8 aboard the MV Velika contained 399 Jojef pump-action rifles, along with hundreds of additional firearm components.

Two individuals were publicly named and reported to have been arrested in connection with that earlier consignment.

However, authorities have not established publicly whether the July shipment and the latest Turkey-origin container are connected.

Deputy Comptroller-General Timi Bomodi, speaking on behalf of Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, attributed the latest interception to intelligence-led operations and targeted examination of suspicious cargo.

The repeated discoveries at Tin Can Island Port have highlighted the role of intelligence gathering and cargo profiling in preventing prohibited goods, particularly firearms, from entering the country through maritime channels.

Nigeria continues to face security challenges linked to the proliferation and illegal movement of small arms and light weapons. The interception of large quantities of firearms before they reach their intended destinations remains a major concern for law-enforcement and national-security agencies.

Customs officials have also warned that efforts to smuggle prohibited goods through the country’s ports can intensify during periods of heightened political and security activity, including election cycles.

Despite the scale of the latest discovery, investigators have yet to release a complete public account of arrests specifically linked to the 204-rifle shipment from Turkey.

For now, the established details are that the container was declared as used household goods, firearm components were discovered concealed among legitimate cargo, 204 pump-action rifles were assembled from the recovered parts, and the weapons were subsequently transferred to NCCSALW.

The seizure adds to a growing series of firearms interceptions at Nigerian ports and raises fresh questions about how dismantled weapons are being concealed within legitimate commercial consignments destined for the country.