The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service(NCS), Mr. Bashir Adeniyi Adewale, has uncovered long forgotten seized hard drugs dating back to 1986 and 1987. The discovery was made during a routine clearance and renovation of an old operations warehouse that has been in use since the 1980s in Kano.
Adeniyi made this known while addressing journalists on Thursday, explaining that the discovery was made when officers encountered a locked cabinet that had been transferred from one generation of Customs Comptrollers to another, with no key available and no clear record of its contents.
He disclosed that the matter was reported to him in Abuja, and he directed that safety checks be carried out to ensure the cabinet did not contain explosive materials. “After confirmation by police operatives that the cabinet posed no explosive risk, approval was given for it to be forced open, and we found in it seized hard drugs kept there in”.
He said: “When the cabinet was opened, we discovered seized hard drugs that were made in 1986 and 1987 and kept in custody all these years,” Adeniyi said. The Comptroller General noted that the items recovered from the cabinet included six blocks and three slabs of Cannabis Sativa, weighing a total of 16.4 kilogrammes, which tested positive following preliminary analysis conducted with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
“Also found were 52,168 capsules of Quinalbarbitone Sodium (100mg) with a total weight of 14.6 kilogrammes. While initial field tests were inconclusive, forensic reports indicated the capsules were not ordinary substances.
“In addition, Permuline tablets weighing 246 grammes tested positive, while a whitish substance weighing about 2.7 kilogrammes tested negative on the field and has been referred for further forensic examination.” The CG hinted that his officers also recovered two parcels weighing 220.01 grammes which tested positive for Heroin.
He noted that the seizures were made decades before the establishment of the NDLEA, explaining why the items remained under Customs custody for over 30 years.
“Our exhibit management has improved significantly over the years but it is instructive that these items were kept safely under lock and key even before the NDLEA was established,” he said.
