A 4,200 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, 525 litres of diesel and 37 kegs of vegetable oil among others in July have been intercepted by the Kebbi Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service.
According to The PUNCH, this was disclosed by the Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Ben Oramalugo, through a press statement on Monday.
He said, “The seizures included 138 packs of tramadol 225mg each, 81 tablet size of cannabis sativa, used Toyota Camry 2007 model as means of conveyance, 46 bags of foreign parboiled rice of 50kg each, and 40 bags of rice of 25 kg each, 88 bales of second hands clothing, 4,200 litres of PMS and 525 litres of diesel, 37 kegs of vegetable oil. The duty paid value of the seized items was N51m.”
He stated how the Niger Republic coup and subsequent border closure had an impact on the command’s efforts to generate cash.
Despite the border closure, the command brought in N99m during the reviewed period, or 113% of its monthly revenue objective, according to Oramalugo.
According to him, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency received hard narcotics and cannabis sativa valued N22 million as part of the seizures.
The Ogun State Command of the NCS also reported intercepting 1,245 live rounds of ammunition, five vehicles, and 203 sacks of imported rice worth N17 million that were left in a bush path in the state’s Yewa-North Local Government Area.
This was revealed to reporters on Monday in the state capital of Abeokuta by the area controller for the Ogun State Command, Bamidele Makinde.
He said, “Around 0024 hours on Friday, August 12, 2023, the Roving B Team of the command intercepted five old vehicles, (Toyota Camry with Chassis No. 4TIBG22KIWU312145, Toyota Camry with Chassis No. 4TIXK1263NU108237 and three Mazda 626 cars with Chassis Nos. JM2GD14H201568566, JMZGF14F201173029 and JMZGF14P20141862 respectively), loaded with 203 bags of foreign parboiled rice of 50kg each abandoned in a bush path at Tobolo Junction, close to an exit point to the Republic of Benin, and near Ijoun, Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria.”
“During the examination of the seized vehicles and the item, about 1,245 rounds of 70mm (2¾“) live ammunition of Lion, Trust, Supreme and Redstar branded cartridges were found to have been ingeniously concealed in 20 bags of the intercepted foreign rice,” he said.
Bamidele stated that the items had been stored for safekeeping while a search for the smugglers had begun.
“The Duty Paid Value of the seized ammunition and rice is N17,638,145.00 The items have been deposited for safekeeping, pending further necessary action. The investigation is ongoing to unravel the cartel responsible for the attempted smuggling of the items for arrest and prosecution,” he concluded.
