MMIA Customs seizes dried shark fins, donkey genitals worth N1.23bn, nets N47.2b revenue

“Animals in the sea have a role they play, endangering them will affect the ecosystem and for us officers at the NCS, we will always make sure that these items under export prohibition list cannot go out”

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

Items suspected to be dried shark fins and dried donkey genitals worth N1.22 billion have been seized by the Murtala Muhammed Airport Lagos Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

The disclosure was made by the command’s Area Controller, Comptroller Muhammed Yusuf, while briefing journalists at the command office this Thursday.

Revealed, that the feat was achieved through coordinated anti-smuggling activities in synergy with critical stakeholders in the command.

Speaking further on the scorecard of the command from January to July, he stated that one suspect each was apprehended for the seized items and investigation ongoing to unravel all that happened.

The suspects he said are: a Nigerian and a Chinese. Whereas suspect for the shark fins was a Nigerian moving the items to China, however, the donkey genitals syndicate is a Chinese moving them to Hong Kong.

Revealed that the six packages of suspected dried shark fins has a Free on Board (FOB) value of N221.9 million, while the 25 packages of donkey genitals has an FOB value of N1.01 billion, both totalling N1.23 billion.

“These items were seized mainly because of various forms of infractions on export guidelines and failure to comply with CITES Law on endangered species as enshrined in the Nigeria Customs Service Act.

“From the number of fins we have here, the implication is that we have over a thousand sharks that have been endangered. We cannot go on with this illegal trade because at the end of the day, it will be problem for us.

“Animals in the sea have a role they play, endangering them will affect the ecosystem and for us officers at the NCS, we will always make sure that these items under export prohibition list cannot go out,” he said.

The customs boss noted that this was the first time the command intercepted such and it was nabbed at the exit point after all documentation.

He said that the shark fin was declared as such while that of the donkey genitals was declared as animal cow genitals.

Yusuf added that the items would be handed over to a unit in customs for further investigation and eventually they would unravel more information.

On the scorecard from January to July, Yusuf said the command generated N47.25 billion, representing 83.24 per cent of target met.

“When compared to the same period in 2022 of N40.335 billion, a progressive difference of N6.914 billion, representing 17.14 per cent increase,” he said.

Yusuf appreciated officers and men of the command for their dedication to the service and urged them to always adhere strictly to the rules of engagements while discharging their statutory duties.

The MMIA Customs controller appreciated the acting Controller General, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, and his management team for always giving them the needed support to perform.

“I appreciate our critical stakeholders and sister agencies who are showing concern and are collaborating with the service for their continuous support,” he revealed.