Ogun
State Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted
6,194 smuggled bags of rice, 33 vehicles and other contrabands worth
over N382million.
The seizures also include 395
kegs of vegetable oil (25 litres each), 340 kegs of petrol, 1,954 pairs
of footwears and seven bales of secondhand clothing.
The
state NCS Comptroller, Michael Agbara, who disclosed this while
briefing reporters at the Idiroko border office, said the contrabands
were seized in August.
Agbara, who stated that
45 cartons of frozen poultry products, 150 cartons of Ceres red grape
juice and five cartons of Ribena currant juice were among the seizures,
told reporters that the duty paid value of all the goods was
N382,263,360.
According to him, the command has improved on its revenue generation and suppression of smuggling activities.
He
explained that within the month of August, the agency generated a total
revenue of N799,682,839.62 which was N71million excess of a monthly
revenue target of N727,775,499.91.
The
comptroller further noted that the seizure of 6,194 bags of foreign rice
last month was the highest monthly seizure ever made in the command
since inception of the Federal Government policy on agricultural
development in the area of boosting local rice production.
He
said 27,085 bags of rice have so far been intercepted from January till
date, adding that the figures exceeded the 21,789 bags seized by the
command throughout 2017.
“The anti-smuggling
success story is a blow to smugglers who wanted to exploit the avenue of
Sallah festivities to perpetuate their illicit act and orchestration to
the fact that officers and men of Ogun command have fulfilled the
promise of curtailing the activities of economic saboteurs,” he said.
Agbara
also disclosed that in line with headquarters directive, his command
recently handed over 11,057 bags of rice and other perishable goods to
internally displaced persons in Borno State through Nigerian Army Corps
of Transport and Logistics.
He added: “The
command equally participated in a joint operation which has led to the
seizure of large quantity of petrol in a creek at Ijoun in which the
quantity is yet to be ascertained due to ongoing evacuation.
“We
wish to commend the patriotic role of our sister agencies, traditional
leaders, eminent personalities and some host communities who have always
partnered with us in our quest to effectively perform our statutory
functions in compliance with extant government policies.”
He assured of the commitment of the command’s operatives to tackling smugglers and smuggling across the state.
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