( CNN ) -- The shipping containers filled with illegal weapons seized in Lagos , Nigeria , earlier this week came from Iran , a leading global shipping company said Saturday . The company , CMA CGM , said it was a victim of false cargo declaration . The shipper -- who the company identified as an Iranian trader -- had listed the materials inside the containers as `` packages of glass wool and pallets of stone . '' The containers in question were loaded in Bandar Abbas , a port in southern Iran , and discharged in Lagos in July , the company said . They were then transferred to a depot . Last week , the shipper asked that the containers be re-loaded and sent to Gambia , CMA CGM said in a statement , adding that the trader had obtained the necessary documentation and clearance for customs . Authorities in Nigeria intervened before the containers were moved . Nigeria 's security service said earlier this week that it had seized 13 shipping containers in the Lagos port filled with illegal weapons , including rockets , grenades and bullets . Each shipping container carries 20 wooden crates . The seizure comes as Nigeria prepares for the 2011 elections , which analysts say are likely to be one of the most-controversial and potentially most-violent elections in the country 's history .
CMA CGM says the containers came from a port in southern Iran . The shipper declared they contained glass wool and stone . Nigeria 's security service seized 13 containers filled with illegal weapons earlier this week . The seizure comes in the run-up to Nigeria 's 2011 elections .