The Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has disclosed it seized smuggled items worth N4.5 billion in January 2022 and recovered N192 million as revenue within five weeks in the Southwest.
The Acting Controller, FOU A, Hussein Ejibunu, who disclosed this to journalists, gave a breakdown of the seizures to include: 3,173 cartons of basmati rice at 5kg each, 297 bags (25kg) foreign parboiled rice, 1,076 25litres kegs of PMS, 195 bales of used clothes, 51 parcels (39.5kg) of Indian hemp, 68 sacks of used clothes.
Other seizures are, 2,535 pieces of used tyres, 17 units of used vehicles, 206 used compressor, 7,557,400 tablets of 225mg Tramadol, seven units of used motorcycles, 21 bales of new bed sheet and 57 units of used plasma TV.
He said the unit’s anti-smuggling and revenue recovery activities will increase this year due to the support and logistics upgrade it received from the Nigeria Customs Service Management and Comptroller General of Customs, Hameed Ali.
According to him, 23 suspected smugglers were arrested out of which five were given administrative bail, while 18 others are in the unit’s custody.
Ejibunu who condemned the murderous acts of killing customs officers by smugglers and their sympathisers, warned that the long arms of the law will not spare perpetrators of such killings.
He also noted that the unit would not be deterred in the performance of its duties and urged the public to support the NCS with credible intelligence that would lead to arrest of smugglers and the prevention of prohibited goods from entering the country.
