The Tin Can Island Port (TCIP) in the Nigerian city of Lagos in Africa has stopped 440 guns from entering the country after another operation four months earlier intercepted 49 boxes loaded with 661 shotguns from China.
The new illegal shipment from Turkey was wrongly declared as plaster powder and a suspect has since been arrested in connection with the arms import.
EOS Risk Q&A: Nigerian Pirate Activity
Blame for the rise in gun shipments has been pinned on the rising crime wave caused by a high rate of unemployment in the country.
In December 2016, TCIP also found guns and ammunition concealed in imported used vehicles.
Guns might be entering into the hands of pirate gangs as the Gulf of Guinea in Nigeria continues to be one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the world for merchant shipping.