The Ogun State Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Friday said it impounded vehicles, motorcycles, vegetable oil and other goods worth over N170 milliong from smugglers through the Idi Iroko border.
This was revealed on Friday by the Comptroller Sani Madugu during a public display of the seized goods.
According to the Comptroller, the NCS, especially the Ogun State Command, will not rest on its oars until smuggling is permanently nipped in the bud.
“The quest to adequately secure our borders against economic saboteurs is gaining momentum. Both internal and external mechanisms are deployed to ensure that desperate and battle ever ready smugglers are defeated,” he said.
Speaking on the feats achieved by the command in the last two weeks, the customs Boss said: “ a total of 38 vehicles out of which 18 are means of conveyance of prohibited items, 19 units of motorcycles, 1, 060 bags of foreign rice (50 kg each), 158 kegs of vegetable oil (25liters each), 159 cartons of Frozen Poultry Products (destroyed), 150 kegs of petrol 25 liters each (auctioned), 5 sacks and 30 bales of secondhand clothing with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of 169, 767, 475.00 were seized during the period under review”.
He however enjoined members of the public to join hands with the Service to fish out smugglers whose nefarious activities is taking negative tolls on the Nigerian economy.
In his words: “It is pertinent to reiterate that one of the adverse effects of smuggling on a nation is economic strangulation. Therefore, concerted efforts are strategically designed to ensure that punitive measures will not be limited to seizures of smuggled items, but reinvigorated efforts will be geared towards apprehension and prosecution of smugglers to serve as deterrent to others. The era of abandoned seizure (seizure without accomplice) will soon come to an end”, he concluded.
Spokesman of the Command, Maiwada Abdullahi confirmed to newsclickng.com in a chat spoke of the Command’s determination to assist federal government determination to protect local industry by stemming smuggling.
