Customs Boss Warns Against Ingenious Concealment, as FOU Zone ‘A’ Seizes Smuggled Vehicles, Others
The Acting Comptroller of the Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’, Hussein Ejibubu, has warned against the use of ingenious concealment methods to transport smuggled goods to Nigeria, as his Unit will continuously work hard to improve detection methods with the aid of intelligence.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, Ejibunu explained that “smuggling is illegal and a crime that has negative social, economic, and security implications.
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While showcasing seizures in November, he disclosed that “the strategic deployment of officers with intelligence-driven in anti-smuggling operations led to the arrest of a Toyota Highlander with an ingenious concealment of suspected bags of foreign parboiled rice at Iju-Ojuore, Ogun State.
He stressed that the concealment of foreign bags of rice stacked inside the engines of vehicles not only contravenes the law but is also harmful to human consumption.
Other seized items within the period under review include; 5,459 bags of 50kg foreign rice (equivalent to 9 trailer loads), 18,100 liters of premium motor spirit, 376 bales of used clothes, 1,926 cartons of frozen poultry products, 337 pieces of used compressors, 3 X 40 ft containers containing 3,838 pieces of used tyres, 13 used vehicles (Tokunbo), and 396 cartons of frozen fish, all worth N872,575,250.
The Ag. Comptroller disclosed that 11 suspects were arrested during the anti-smuggling operations without hassles, as such, calls for the collaborative efforts of all citizens to support the Service by providing valuable and timely information that would aid the anti-smuggling drive.
Ejibubu underscored the importance of collective responsibility in ensuring the security of borders and preventing illicit trade practices.
On revenue generation, the Ag. Comptroller disclosed that “the Command generated the sum of N71,254,984.71 through conscious and thorough documentary checks, followed by the issuance of demand notices on consignments that were found to have paid lesser amounts than the appropriate Customs duty.”
