.... Arrests 12 Suspects
ZAINAB JUNAID
As part of its commitment towards safeguarding the nation’s economy from recalcitrant saboteurs, officers of the Federal Operations Unit, Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service have seized goods worth Eight Hundred and thirteen million, fifty eight thousand, three hundred and forty five naira
(N813,058,345) Duty Paid Value in the month of August 2023.
Ag. Controller Federal Operations Unit Zone A, Hussein Kehinde Ejibunu, disclosed this on Tuesday September 5th, 2023 while briefing Journalists saying the Command seized 394 cartons of prohibited codeine syrup, 345kg of cannabis and have arrested 12 suspects in connection with the seizures.
Ejibunu noted that the revenue recovered into government coffer through documentary checks and issuance of demand notices on consignments that were found to have been short-paid was Eighty one million, four hundred and forty nine thousand, three hundred and seventy three naira, thirty eight kobo(N81,449,373.38) for the month under review.
The notable seizures made in August 2023, according to him include: 6,911 x 50kg bags of Foreign Parboiled Rice over 11 truck-loads;486 cartons of frozen poultry products;368 pieces of used tyres ; 13 used vehicles ;32 cartons of expired batteries and 1 X 40 ft container FTC one used Toyota Corolla, 49 pieces of car rims,552 pieces of car used tyres, 205 pieces of used truck tyres and 32 pieces of motorcycle tyres.
Other seizures include 292 bales of Used Clothes and 13,525 litres of Premium Motor Spirit.
"You may recall that foreign tomato paste, used clothing, foreign parboiled rice, importation of vehicles through the land borders, used tyres, arms and ammunition without end-user certificates among others, are items that fall under the import prohibition list; their importation threatens our fragile economy.
"91 seizures were recorded within the month of August with 12 suspects in connection with some of the seizures. Worthy of note is the fact that apart from the cartons of codeine syrup we showcased during the last press briefing, additional cartons of the product were again intercepted making a total of 394 cartons seized within the period under review, " he said.
The Ag. Controller further stressed that the Command will continue to remain resolute in enforcing the Customs extant laws on dubious importers and traders.
His words," On our part, we shall continue to partner with well-meaning citizens by soliciting for timely and useful information to curb smuggling. While we advise members of the public to be guided by the Import and Export Prohibition Lists for compliance.
" It is sad to note that some Nigerians would pay all duties and levies payable to the Customs authorities of other countries they import from, while they make conscious efforts to evade such payments into the federal government coffers. On revenue recovery, the sum of N81,449,373.38 was made through documentary checks and issuance of demand notices on consignments that were found to have been short-paid.
"I am using this medium to thank all patriotic Nigerians that provided useful information that led to some arrests, and also the compliant traders and importers for complying with the extant laws. While the recalcitrant ones are advised to stop because it is a crime.
"We are also expressing our gratitude to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, for the additional logistics supply of two (2) trucks for the evacuation of seizures and a towing truck. The provision of these additional logistics has eased our operations," he concluded.
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