The Nihgerian Customs Service displayed 5,200 live ammunition, 1,215 bags of foreign rice, and a bulletproof Toyota Landcruiser Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV, intercepted during the Yuletide in Owerri, Imos state capital.
Yusuf Lawal, the controller, Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘C’, disclosed this on Thursday, January 7, 2021 saying the seizures were made between November 23 and December 27, 2020.
Giving a breakdown of the items, Yusuf said the Duty Paid Value, DPV, of the live ammunition was N3million, while the DPV of the foreign rice was N36 million.
He added that the DPV of the bullet proof Landcruiser and other three vehicles seized during the period was N221million.
He said 38 ‘Jumbo Bales’ known as used clothes worth N3million were also intercepted during the period under review.
On general merchandise, the controller said 204 foreign tin tomatoes, pharmaceutical products, and others worth N115million were intercepted.
Yusuf disclosed that N7million was recovered from a Demand Notice, DN, on 3X40ft containers which, he said, was as a result of wrong declaration and transfer of value.
“The live ammunition was intercepted on Nwezenyi Ikom road in Cross River, while the 1,215 bags of rice were intercepted on Okada road in Edo and the tomatoes and pharmaceuticals were intercepted on Onitsha Enugu expressway.
“Today, I’m elated to inform you that after reflecting and reviewing our operational modalities toward sustaining our statutory mandate of anti-smuggling operations, we have intercepted contraband.
“On assumption of duty, I held meetings with my sectional heads, where we unveiled the management mandate, which includes blockage of revenue leakages and amplification of ant-smuggling operations,” he said.
He noted that the said total amount of DPV and DN of the seizures made during the period was N386million.
Yusuf said the activities of smugglers were a great sabotage to the economy.
“Considering the level of insecurity in the country, if the live ammunition were not intercepted, the nation would have been in trouble.
“These seizures were made since I took over as the Controller, Federal Operations Zone ‘C’. We will not give up the fight against smuggling in the country,” he said.
He hailed the Comptroller-General of Customs for giving them the will power to continue to fight against smuggling and warned smugglers to stop illegal importation of goods into Nigeria, saying: “The unit is ready to fight them to a standstill.”
