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WAR ON NARCOTICS: Aliyu Strikes Again as Customs FOU Zone ‘A’ Decimates N3.95bn Illicit Cartels

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Heap of different variants of the seized drugs

BY FUNMI ALUKO

​As it is often whistled around in the high-stakes arena of border enforcement, Comptroller Gambo Aliyu does not believe in half measures or diplomatic compromise.
For the hardboiled enforcement chief at the helm of the Nigeria Customs Service Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’, goal-getting is also an unyielding creed.
Where the rules of engagement and the laws of the land are concerned, his posture remains resolutely unapologetic, refusing to negotiate with economic saboteurs or syndicates who target the security of the nation.
​That relentless drive was on full display on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at the Unit Headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos, where Comptroller Aliyu unveiled yet another massive scorecard, marking his unit’s third major high-profile drug bust of the year.
In a briefing with officials of security and special services chiefs in attendance, the FOU Zone ‘A’ boss handed over a massive haul of seized psychotropic substances, controlled pharmaceuticals, and toxic industrial chemicals valued at a staggering three billion, nine hundred and fifty-one million, eighty-five thousand Naira on the street, alongside three suspects arrested in connection with the illicit shipments.
​The sheer volume of the contraband intercepted along border corridors, highways, and strategic transit points within the area of responsibility underscores a devastating blow to criminal cartels.
Among the narcotics transferred to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation and prosecution were over three metric tons of synthetic cannabis sativa packed across thousands of parcels and sacks, dozens of kilograms of skunk cannabis, crystal methamphetamine, and backwoods cigars.
 In addition, officers intercepted massive quantities of controlled pharmaceuticals, including thousands of packs and sachets of high-dose tramadol tablets, hypnox tablets, and codeine syrup.
​Speaking during the briefing, Comptroller Aliyu emphasized that the illicit movement of controlled substances poses a severe threat to public health and national security by fueling addiction, violence, and criminality among young people.
He reaffirmed that the Nigeria Customs Service will continue to disrupt drug trafficking networks by fortifying supply chain integrity and deploying intelligence-driven strategies to dismantle smuggling operations at their roots.
​Demonstrating the unit’s wide-reaching enforcement mandate, Aliyu’s vigilant officers also averted a major environmental disaster by intercepting four cylinders containing a total of 138 kilograms of high-grade mercury.
Controlled internationally under the Minamata Convention due to its extreme environmental hazard, the chemical is routinely diverted for illegal gold mining. The mercury was also formally handed over to the representative of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) for appropriate regulatory action.
​Flanked by representatives of the NDLEA Strategic Command and NESREA, Comptroller Aliyu stressed that no single law enforcement body can confront complex transborder crime alone.
Fielding questions from journalists, the UK born anti-smuggling czar explained that drug trafficking and smuggling generally operates as a criminal network of both hardliners and a mixture of unfortunate couriers that requires careful sieving by the relevant security agencies in determining the level of culpability.
He averred that anyone linked to facts of drugs trafficking is a suspect in law, liable to arrest and investigation, while the law is relied upon to clinically situate and affirm contraventions and or wilful abuses.
He commended sister agencies for their ongoing partnership, maintaining that FOU Zone ‘A’ will remain relentless in deploying surveillance, robust enforcement, and inter-agency collaboration to protect Nigeria’s borders, safeguard public health, and facilitate only legitimate trade on behalf of the Federal Government.
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