Between January and December 2022, the South-West anti-smuggle unit of the Nigeria Customs Service otherwise referred to as Federal Operating Unit (FOU) Zone A on Thursday disclosed that it seized.
93,102 of 50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice totalling 156 trailer loads of rice,108 automobiles comprising of trucks, tankers cars and motorcycles among other contrabands with Duty Paid Value put at Thirteen Billion, Nine Hundred and Eight Million, Five Hundred and Seventy-five Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirty-six Naira, Five Kobo (N13,908,575,436.5).
The unit explained that Illicit drugs seized within the same period include 2,354 kg and 4,976 tablets of Cannabis sativa, 233 cartons X 225 milligrams, and 82 packs X 225 milligrams of Tramadol.
Briefing journalists in Ikeja, the Area Controller in charge of the Unit, Deputy Comptroller Hussien Kehinde Ejibunu said the service lost the four of its officers namely Inspectors of Customs TP Astor, and A Onwueguzie, and Assistant Inspectors of Customs, Musa, R and Bristol when they confronted smugglers last year.
Also nabbed was 656,414 liters of premium motor spirit (PMS), about 20 tanker loads of fuel from what he described as “economic saboteurs who seek to impoverish the majority of our country people by taking out petrol subsidized for citizens’ benefit to be sold in other countries”
The unit also arrested 176 smuggling suspects, secured 7 convictions, while 14 were charged to court and are at various stages of investigation and prosecution, just as 7 suspects are in detention; 2 suspects were handed over to NDLEA, and 1 suspects was handed over to the Nigerian Police respectively, while 151 are on administrative bail.
Ejibunu said, “We were duty bound to carry out our responsibilities. I am glad to report that we shook the smuggling world within our area of responsibility.
“We recovered the discovered shortfalls through issuance of demand notices (DN).”