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- Convicted 6 suspected smugglers
By Steve Agbota
The Federal Operations Unit Zone A of the Nigerian Customs Service on Monday said that intercepted 707 seizures worth a total Duty Paid Value of N18.710 billionwere intercepted from January 2024 till date.
Notable among the seizures are 48,912 bags of foreign parboiled rice of 50kg each, 191,975 liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 7,861 kg of Cannabis sativa and among others.
The Unit also arrested 94 suspects were in connection with some of the seizures, and six persons have been convicted for various offences, demonstrates Customs’ quest to bring perpetrators to justice and also ensure deterrence from illicit Trade.
Speaking during a press briefing, the Controller of the Unit, Comptroller Kola Oladeji, said that the commitment of the Unit at combating smuggling and ensuring maximum compliance to the provisions of the NCS Act 2023 has yielded series of seizures and arrests from January 2024 till date.
“These achievements underscore our determination to protect the Nation’s economy and security against illicit Cross Border Trade and movement around our Borders.
“We have been working relentlessly to improve smuggling detection methods, leveraging on intelligence to stay ahead of smugglers and prevent the importation of prohibited and harmful products,” he said.
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According to him, rhe newly inaugurated “Operation Swift Sting” has recorded remarkable success in the fight against illicit Cross Border Trade with impressive smuggling with impressive arrest in just two weeks.
“Through this operation, we arrested a significant amount of cannabis Sativa, 4,010 bags of foreign parboiled rice in with 50kg bag each, Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), along with other contraband items. It is clear that “Operation Swift Sting” is delivering unbearable heat to the smuggling cartel at the same time ensuring facilitation of compliant trade with impressive outcome.
He said other prominent among the seizures are: 6,168 pieces of dry donkey skins 37,630 sachets of Tramadol, 207 units of Motor Vehicles (Some of which were arrested for short payment of Duty and later cleared after payment of outstanding Duty), 6,755 cartons of foreign frozen poultry products 1,433 bales of used clothes.
“Others are 1,773 units of used refrigerator compressors, 317 cartons of illicit medicament. In addition to the seizures, so far in 2024 we collected revenue through careful documentary checks and issuance of Demand Notices to consignments that were found to have underpaid Customs Duty. The sum of N1. 012 billion was generated through these efforts.
“This also underscore the importance of careful monitoring and intelligence at preventing smuggling and ensuring that all imports are properly declared and taxed. Smuggling operations that employ ingenious concealment methods could have significant impact on the Nation’s economy and security if not checked with modern intelligence tools. Hence, the Service is calling on all citizens to support its anti-smuggling efforts by providing useful and timely information on illicit Cross Border Trade,” he explained.
In the course of fighting the menace of smuggling, he said Customs also raised awareness about its dangers and the importance of complying with Customs regulations.
