In a startling discovery, operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have intercepted a 40-foot container loaded with donkey genitals, suspected to be en route for illegal export. The seizure was made on Friday, June 5, 2025, at about 9 p.m. along the Kaduna–Abuja Expressway during a coordinated surveillance operation led by officers of the Special Wildlife Office (SWO) and the Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU).
At a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, Customs Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, represented by the Service’s spokesperson Abdullahi Maiwada, described the seizure as a major breakthrough in the fight against illegal wildlife trade. The contraband was handed over to the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) at the NCS Government Warehouse in Karu.
“This is not an isolated incident,” Maiwada said. “It reflects the persistent activities of transnational criminal networks exploiting endangered species for illicit profits.”
The Customs Service has intensified its crackdown on wildlife trafficking in recent years. In the past 12 months alone, the SWO has disrupted numerous smuggling attempts, including the interception of live pangolins, parrots, monkeys, and large stashes of exotic animal parts such as lion hides, baboon remains, and over 119kg of pangolin scales.
A particularly grim case in Cross River State uncovered 213 parrot heads and 128 hornbill heads. Another in Adamawa State led to the rescue of 120 African Grey Parrots.
“These operations expose the scale, complexity, and profitability of illegal wildlife trade,” Maiwada stated, adding that many of the networks are also linked to organized crimes such as money laundering, arms trafficking, and illicit currency movement.
To combat this, the NCS has been ramping up its technological capacity with digital forensics, species identification tools, and cross-border enforcement collaborations. Several prosecutions are reportedly underway.
Calling the illegal trade an “issue of national importance,” Maiwada emphasized that the Service is fully committed to enforcing the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and international treaties like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
He urged Nigerians—especially those in border areas and logistics hubs—to report any suspicious activity related to wildlife products, stressing that public cooperation is essential in dismantling the criminal ecosystems profiting off endangered species.
