Hyenas & Porcupine Seized: Customs Smashes ₦12.7M Wildlife Trafficking Ring in Maiduguri

In a dramatic crackdown, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Borno/Yobe Command, has intercepted a menagerie of endangered wildlife and smuggled goods in two separate operations—handing traffickers a ₦12.7 million loss.

Hyenas & Porcupine Seized: Customs Smashes ₦12.7M Wildlife Trafficking Ring in Maiduguri
photo credit: NCS

The wildlife haul (₦10 million DPV):
Hidden inside a Mercedes-Benz wagon (ABJ 517 AR) along Kano Road, Maiduguri, officers found:

• 2 live hyenas

• 1 porcupine

• 24 African crowned cranes

All species are protected under CITES Appendices I & II—the highest global safeguard against illegal trade.

Hyenas & Porcupine Seized: Customs Smashes ₦12.7M Wildlife Trafficking Ring in Maiduguri
photo credit: NCS

The smuggled juice bust (₦2.73 million):
On the Nguru–Gashua Road, Yobe State, a Volkswagen Golf was caught smuggling 65 cartons of “Djino Cocktail de Fruits” juice, concealed with Arabic gum and sugar bags.

What Customs said:
Comptroller Abdullahi Idris vowed, “We will not tolerate wildlife trafficking in our territory.” The Command is now working with partners to bring perpetrators to justice.

Bottom Line: Nigeria’s biodiversity just got a frontline defender.

Written by Boom RadioNG