N9Billion Worth Of Contraband Goods Seized By Customs
LUCKY LAWAL
The Strike Force of the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali, which replaced the disbanded Compliance Team, has disclosed that seizures valued at N9billion truck laden with contraband goods were impounded.
Speaking to newsmen, the National Coordinator of the Strike Force, Deputy Comptroller Abdullahi Kirawa, noted that the team’s harvest of seizures from the Lagos Ports intercepted on the highway included: a 40-feet truck loaded with1,420 cartons of explosives (fireworks and crackers known as knockouts) falsely declared as machines, 195 sacks of 7,560kg Pangolin Scales with street value of N8.4 billion, 8,090 bags of rice worth N113.2 million, 40-feet container laden with 1,200 cartons of sex enhancing drugs worth N360 million, 40-feet container conveying 459 bales of secondhand clothing with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N22.9 million, used tyres, vegetable oil and others which total value is N9 billion respectively.
According to the statement released, the Zone ‘A’ Strike Force Team headed by Assistant Comptroller Mohammed’s successful operation, was made possible through high level intelligence gathering of the seizures which also included: 600 bags of rice concealed with empty crates of beer in a 40-feet container truck, and in other to beat security check, 550 bags of rice concealed in a truck meant to convey cement were among the seizures. That however led to the arrest of seven (7) persons in connection with the impounded items.
The National Coordinator expressed concern over the level at which company properties were being used to perpetrate illegalities in the country, adding that the delivery truck belonged to a company, and that every attempt to defraud and short change government on duty payments
would be thwarted.
Kirawa therefore, urged Nigerians to support government’s policy on local rice production to boost the agricultural sector by improving the Nigerian economic, maintaining that investigations were ongoing to unravel how the consignments were cleared.
He explained that the intercepted explosives were on import prohibited list and anyone who wishes to import must have End User Certificate but these did not have End User Certificate of import.
