By Billy Graham Abel, Yola
The Adamawa-Taraba Area Command of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has busted several smuggling activities in the area, and made about 19 seizures valued worth more than N13 million.
The command also seized and destroyed hundreds of donkey skin smuggled between Nigeria-Cameroun border.
This was made known at a press briefing by the Area Comptroller of Adamawa-Taraba command of the Nigerian Customs Service, Salisu, Kazaure Abdullahi, over the weekend in Yola, Adamawa State.
Comptroller Abdullahi Kazaure said the smugglers had continued to demonstrate defiance to the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and that the command had vowed to clampdown on activities of smugglers and others, who were committed to wrecking havoc on the Nigerian economy.
Giving details of the service crackdown on smuggling activities in the region, Kazaure said: “In the month under review, the command recorded 19 seizures of assorted items with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N13, 749,110:35k.”
“In defiance of the subsidy removal on PMS, intelligence report has revealed that the smuggling of the product to the West African sub-region still persists. This is owning to the fact that the country’s PMS is of high quality and some of the products could be illegally sourced.
“To that effect, about 19 cartons of insecticide, 26 x 50kg bags of par boiled foreign rice, 15,449 litres of Premium Motor Spirit packed in 17 x 200l drums and 475 x 25 litres and 6 x 35 litres jerry cans were seized,” Kazaure explained.
The Adamawa-Taraba Customs’ boss said: “I want to bring to the notice of the public that the command has vowed to clampdown on all smugglers, because our nation cannot afford to allow saboteurs to take over the nation’s economy.
“On this note, I implore all patriotic Nigerians, stakeholders and all relevant security agencies at the command’s frontiers to continue to collaborate with the customs in the battle against the menace of smuggling, because it is a fight for all.”
The command announced that it had earlier on the 16th November, 2023, destroyed counterfeit and illicit drugs it seized from smugglers.
Shortly after the press briefing, the Kazaure-led command destroyed hundreds of donkey skins confiscated from traffickers of the contraband item.
The comptroller commended the officers and men of the command, and tasked them to remain resolute and determined in the fight against smuggling activities.
He also commended the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Services, Bashir Adeniyi Adewale and the Customs management team for providing the command with additional operational vehicles which had strengthened the command’s resolve and operational capacity to carry out more seizures and effectively deal a blow to smuggling activities within the command within the period under review.