Between January and June of 2022, the Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit, Zone D, seized contraband valued at N126,551,131 and arrested three suspects.
Adesanmi Omiye, the Comptroller of FOU, Zone D, which includes the states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau, Benue, and Nassarawa, disclosed this information at a press conference on Thursday.
According to him, the seizures were made possible by the dedication and perseverance of the zone’s agents.
In addition, 3,000 litres of engine oil and 500 litres of gasoline were confiscated, along with foreign spaghetti, dried donkey skins, and urea fertiliser.
Omiye said, “We also arrested three suspects in connection with these seizures, but they were admitted to bail. What we are more concerned about is stopping this contraband from going into the market because of the implication it will have on the economy.”
He admonished smugglers to cease their criminal activities and vowed that the NCS would not relent in its efforts to rid the zone of smugglers.
According to him, among the items seized during various operations in the zone were 605 bags of foreign parboiled rice weighing 50 kilogrammes each, seven used vehicles used to transport the contraband, 54 bales of secondhand clothing, and 215 cartons of foreign soap.