The Sea Empowerment and the Research Centre (SEREC) and the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) have called for the identification of the importers, exporters, consignees, financiers, manufacturers, suppliers, freight forwarders, documentation, intended recipients and exposure of the entire supply chain involved in the major arms and cannabis-infused products intercepted at the Tin Can Island Port and other trade corridors.

They said the facilitators should be brought to justice, noting that some innocent indigenous truckers, shipping and logistics practitioners and customs brokers are wrongfully held despite not knowing the contents concealed inside the containers.

Head of Research, SEREC, Eugene Nweke, said an organised firearms consignment of 399 rifles entering through one of Nigeria’s busiest maritime gateways potentially points to commercial-scale illicit arms trafficking, involving financiers, international suppliers, logistics facilitators, document handlers, local intermediaries and intended end-users.

Consequently, Nweke strongly urged that investigations should seek to dismantle the entire supply chain rather than merely seize the cargo and prosecute whoever happens to be immediately available.

Nweke stressed the need for the Federal Government to strengthen intelligence-led cargo control at the seaports by advancing cargo information and pre-arrival risk assessment, targeting of high-risk consignments, comprehensive analysis of consignors, consignees, shipping routes and cargo histories as well as improving documentary and trade-pattern analysis.

He also called for stronger inter-agency intelligence fusion, effective use of non-intrusive inspection technology, enhanced scrutiny of high-risk cargo without unnecessarily delaying legitimate trade and timely sharing of actionable intelligence with relevant security agencies.

Nweke added that there should also be a deliberate effort to identify recurring patterns involving specific trade routes, shipping arrangements, documentation anomalies, intermediaries, and commercial entities associated with suspicious consignments.

He recommended that the investigation should not stop at Customs documentation, noting that where legally appropriate, the relevant financial and security authorities should examine the financial trail behind the transaction, including payment arrangements, beneficial ownership, intermediaries and possible cross-border financial connections.

Founder, AMATO, Remi Ogungbemi, argued that had the concealment not been detected before the container was loaded onto a truck, the innocent truck owner could have found himself in serious trouble.

He said the truck could have been arrested and impounded while investigations continued, despite the truck owner not knowing the contents concealed inside the container.

Ogungbemi said an attempt by a dubious, criminally minded importer to conceal prohibited items through dishonest declarations exposes innocent truck owners and operators to unnecessary arrests, impoundment, and prolonged investigations.