The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Tin Can Island Port Command, has intercepted 204 illegal pump-action rifles concealed among declared household goods in a 20-foot container imported from Turkey.
Officials said the seizure resulted from credible intelligence and sustained surveillance aimed at stopping the importation and circulation of illicit firearms.
The container, numbered TEMU 184536/9, arrived at the port aboard the vessel MV Algeciras Express on August 16, 2026.
It was flagged for examination and underwent a full physical inspection on August 18.Officers discovered the firearm components hidden among used goods that included furniture, refrigerators, solar panels and detergent.
The recovered items consisted of 204 MAS 49 ALTER MAGNUM pump-action rifles, plus leftover parts such as trigger pins, locking lugs, charging handles, springs, trigger groups, grips, barrels and other components.
The interception comes barely two weeks after the same command seized another shipment of knocked-down firearm parts that were later assembled into 399 pump-action rifles and handed over to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons.
Customs authorities described the latest find as part of ongoing efforts to block the entry of prohibited weapons that threaten national security.