By Ifeoma ikem
Seme command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS),made seizure of offensive items valued forty million naira (N40, 000,000) in the last two weeks of August, 2019.
The Customs Area Controller of the command, Comptroller Mohammed Uba Garba who confirmed the development to newsmen in Seme through the Public Relations Officer, Saidu Nurudeen Abdullahi noted that efforts of the enforcement unit of the command with regard to suppression of smuggling were yielding results.
Garba gave the breakdown of the items seized within the period under review to include; 875x50bags of Foreign parboiled rice with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N15,023,750, 12x25litres of vegetable oil with DPV of N131,625.90, 6x50kg of refined sugar with DPV of N147,640.50, 535 bales of used clothes with DPV of N17,259,769 and 20 parcels of cannabis sativa with street value worth of N516,180, 269 baskets of fresh tomatoes, 1 basket of fresh peppers, 7 sacks of cucumber and pineapples and 16 baskets of fresh Okro, all perishable products coming from Benin Republic which were earnestly auctioned off with DPV of N367,471.
Others include: 16 sacks of used shoes, belt and ladies bag with DPV of N541,989, 57 pieces of textile wrappers with DPV of N367,778, 65 cartons of poultry products with DPV of N948,333.75, 137×25 liter jerry cans of PMS with DPV of N287,700 and 6 buckets of car paint with DPV of N144,530.40, 11 cartons of Galvanized nails with DPV of N99,364.65, 2566 pieces of currency (in coins) and other foreign currencies, 7 cartons of condensed milk with DPV of N78,534.75 as well as 4 carton of spaghetti noodles with DPV of N15,678.97.
Also other items are; 2 cartons of tinned tomato with DPV of N14,589, 2 sacks of coconuts with DPV of N38,714, 4 cartons of body cream, 1 bag of detergent soap with DPV of N58,913, 20 pieces of sand paper with DPV of N12,778.50, 4 television sets, 2 pieces of television stands with DPV of N187,115.25, 4 cartons of fuel filter with DPV of N11,669, 1 carton of motor spare parts with DPV of N134,631 and 2 pieces of gas burner with DPV of N2,137.
Speaking further,he said that one of the vehicles used in conveying the contraband was a Toyota Hiace bus worth N2, 907,450 belonging to G- Express Company with registration number ENU 962 ZK, believed to be coming from Ghana.
“Upon careful examination at the baggage inward hall, it was discovered that it contain five (5) parcels of items suspected to be cannabis sativa concealed in the bus. Consequently, the bus driver, bus boy and the cargo handler were all promptly arrested and detained.
“The command in the spirit of inter-agency cooperation and synergy handed over the said items and the suspects to the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further prosecution”, he said .
The Controller therefore, promised that the Nigeria Customs Service would continue to compliment the efforts of the NDLEA in its fight to rid the nation of the illicit substances.
While highlighting the importance of making seizures with suspects, the Controller added that “we must continue to send the right signal to discourage other people from indulging in the despicable act of smuggling.”
He re-iterated the command’s commitment to strict implementation of the Federal Government’s fiscal policies and the extant laws that govern the day to day operation of the service at the international corridor.