Customs Seizes Over N22 Billion Worth Of Elephant Tusks In Lagos

The Nigeria Customs Service has seized hundreds of ivory and pangolin scales in Lekki area of Lagos.

The elephant ivory worth over N22 Billion was seized on Wednesday.

This is one of the largest arrests by Customs in Nigeria since its inception.

The seized items include pangolin scales that weighed 17,137 kilograms stocked in 196 bags and 870 kilograms of ivory.

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world. The animals are hunted for their scales which is believed in Asian countries like China to have curative powers and also function as an aphrodisiac. It has been predicted by many experts that if swift action is not taken to curb the trafficking of pangolins,  the species would be extinct in the nearest future.

Speaking to BBC, the Comptroller General of Customs, Colonel Hamid Ali Rtd. Said the contraband is suspected to have been imported from the Central African Republic in an attempt to smuggle them into Asia.

He said three suspects have since been arrested into custody in connection with the smuggling.