Eight people have been detained in connection with the seizure after 397.5 kg of pangolin scales were intercepted by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC).
Three of the arrested individuals, according to a statement by the public relations officer and deputy comptroller Timi Bomodi, were Vietnamese.
He continued by saying that they had attempted to traffic big quantities of pangolin scales and ivory through Nigeria.
“Preliminary investigation revealed these three Vietnamese nationals as high-ranking members of a major organised crime group. They are involved in the trafficking of ivory, pangolin scales, rhino horns and lion bones from Mozambique and South Africa through Nigeria to Vietnam.
“The three suspects were arrested while sourcing for pangolin scales in Nigeria, 397.5kg of which was found in their possession”, he said.
According to Bomodi, the Nigerian Customs Service was able to seize 400 kg of pangolin scales that were being sold on the underground market thanks to an intelligence-led operation and the assistance of WJC.
He said that the two organisations had been successful in apprehending further members of the criminal organisation.
An international organisation called WJC aims to thwart and destroy networks of illegal wildlife trade.
Bomodi further revealed that the suspects who had been detained had been charged with a number of offences related to the illegal trade in wildlife.
“These arrests came as part of a proactive enforcement operation targeting the top echelon of wildlife traffickers worldwide. They were assessed to have caused unprecedented disruptions to organised global wildlife trafficking network.
“This is the fourth major illegal wildlife arrest in one year, resulting from the strategic partnership between the Nigeria Customs Service, Wildlife Justice Commission and other foreign governments.
“It demonstrates the commitment of the Nigeria Customs Service as a formidable ally in the fight against wildlife trafficking.
“Initial crackdowns in 2021 had resulted in discoveries of 7.1 tonnes of pangolin scales and 850 kilogrammes of ivory, all of which were seized by the Nigeria Customs Service”, he said.
Officers of the service were recognised by the Comptroller-General of Customs, retired Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali, for their efforts in severing the links between illegal wildlife trading and unlawful deforestation and tree-felling activities.
He gave the people the assurance that the service would do all possible to assist the rest of the globe in safeguarding endangered species and halting deforestation.
“Nigeria Customs Service would never allow perpetrators of these crimes to profit from it or escape the wrath of the law. It will be recalled that in 2021, the Comptroller General of Customs at a media briefing in Lagos, showcased a seizure of pangolin scales and elephant tusks worth N22.6 billion.
“This achievement was widely acknowledged as a major boost to the fight against the extinction of endangered wildlife species in Nigeria”, he said.
Ali gave the assurance that the Nigeria Customs will keep up the enforcement of Common External Tariff Schedule 6, which lists endangered species as being completely prohibited for export.
He asserted that the Service will not waver in its enforcement duties as a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES).
He emphasised that it would reduce to a minimum the nation's vulnerable ecosystem's and its biodiversity's unethical and illegal exploitation.