Thursday, March 28, 2024

Customs clamps down on smugglers, seizes N356m goods

The Federal Operations Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service has seized contraband goods with duty paid value of N356million.

The items, which were intercepted between August 29 and October 3, this year, include 11 used vehicles, 4,227 bags of foreign parboiled rice, foreign frozen poultry products and vegetable oil.

Other items were Indian hemp, medicaments, used tyres, scrap metals, wet blue, electric cables, unprocessed wood, bales of used clothing and shoes.

Comptroller of the command, Mohammed Uba, while briefing the media, said the items were intercepted based on a tip-off.

Uba said, “Based on information, we trailed and evacuated 3000 bags of smuggled rice from 10 houses along waterside in Ere Village of Ado-Odo Local Government of Ogun State.

“Each of these houses has three exit doors for their nefarious activities. As we were evacuating the rice from one house to the other, the villagers were also busy packing the rice to the bush through another exit. That is to tell you the extent some people take risk, while indulging in smuggling. They see smuggling as a way of life and an inherited business.”

According to him, the Customs operatives were able to make the seizure with the support of the military from 9 Brigade Nigerian Army, Ikeja.

He added that 11 seized vehicles, including two Lexus Jeep GX460 and RX330, one Toyota Rav4, two Toyota Camry, 5 Mercedes Benz and one IVECO Truck (Tanker), ranging from 2007 to 2013 models, respectively, were also seized.

In the same vein, the Comptroller said that the 11 assorted vehicles alone had a duty paid value of N125, 403,598.5.

“We have 17 assorted vehicles in detention of various models. The vehicles were evacuated from car marts due to infractions noticed in their documents. As I speak with you, they have not been able to provide relevant customs documents on some yet, but we have given them enough room to provide them. The vehicles under detention have a duty paid value of N141, 877,496.15,” he said.

The Customs also seized 14 containers with a duty paid value of N104, 684,023.2 for false declaration and breach of customs law.

Among the containers were seven with unprocessed wood, one carrying scrap metals and another one carrying wet blue for exports, which all fall under export prohibition list.

Three of the seized containers were medicaments without appropriate import documents and certification, while two containers were carrying made-in-Nigeria cables but imported from China, and declared as electric distribution board and ballast, according to the Area Comptroller of the command.

He said that in the spirit of inter-agency collaboration; the seized Indian hemp, the medicaments and the cables will be handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, and Standard Organisation of Nigeria, for thorough investigation.

He also disclosed that eight suspects had been arrested in connection with the 128 seizures, adding that there were 12 trials at the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Federal High Court, respectively.

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