Officials from the Adamawa/Taraba Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) confiscated a total of 19 assortments of items in the past month.
The seized goods have a duty paid value amounting to N13.7 million, as reported by the Area Command headquarters in Yola.
The Command revealed these details during a briefing on Saturday.
The Area Comptroller of the NCS, Salisu Abdullahi, enumerated the confiscated items, which comprised 15,000 liters of petrol stored in drums and jerry cans, along with cartons of insecticides and bags of foreign rice, among other items.
Abdullahi conveyed his remorse over the economic losses suffered by Nigerians and legitimate stakeholders in the oil and gas industry due to the smuggling of petroleum products.
Adding that the smugglers appeared determined, he said, “Our intelligence reports revealed that the smuggling of petroleum products into countries in the West African sub-region persists because Nigeria’s PMS is of high quality.”
He directed his officers and personnel to heighten efforts in making smuggling operations increasingly challenging for those attempting to engage in them.
The Customs Area Comptroller clarified that due to the flammable nature of petrol, a significant portion of the seized volume had been appropriately disposed of in compliance with the law, and the generated proceeds had been remitted to the federation account.
“The remaining PMS will be auctioned immediately after this press conference,” he told the reporters at the event.”