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From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The Customs Area Controller, Kebbi State Area Command, Comptroller Hafiz Kalla, has handed over 632 parcels of 1 kg each of cannabis popularly known as Indian Hemp, and two small sacks containing 199 sachets of 1,000 pieces each of Diazepam 5 mg tablets to the State Commander of Nigeria Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA ), Kebbi State Command.
The Area Controller, who handed over the seized items to the NDLEA at the Command Headquarters in Birnin Kebbi, said that the handing over was a directive from the Comptroller General of Customs, Col Hameed Ibrahim Ali (retd), in the spirit of inter agencies collaboration.
He explained that,the items were intercepted by the gallant officers and men of his Command in collaboration with other units of the service based on intelligence.
According to him, ‘the Duty Paid Value of the items stands at twenty two million, thirteen thousand, four hundred and sixty nine naira (N22, 013, 469),’Kalla said.
The Area Controller expressed his men determination to not only combat smuggling of goods injurious to the nation’s economy, but also to fight against importation of any drugs capable of spelling doom for the youths, which he said were the targets of the illicit drugs.
He also seized the opportunity to disclose the Command’s achievement in anti smuggling activities which he said has from January to date, they recorded 47 seizures of assorted items including a recent seizure of a truck loaded with seven hundred and fifty one (751) bags of 50 kg of foreign rice concealed under sacks of onions.
‘The Duty Paid Value of all the items stands at fifty one million, seven hundred and fifty five thousand, five hundred and seventy seven naira (N51,755,577).
‘Equally, a sum of three million and nine thousand naira (N3,009,000) was also generated as fees from auction sales of inflammable items and scraps within the period,’ he said.
In his remark, the State Commander, NDLEA, Kebbi State Command, Mr Peter Odaudu, commended Kebbi Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service for the feat and the synergy it exhibited, adding that combating drug abuse and use of illicit drugs was not for the law enforcement alone, but everybody’s responsibility.
Speaking in the same vein, the Special Adviser to Kebbi State Governor on Security, Major Garba Rabiu Kamba (retd), appreciated the efforts made by the Command in impounding dangerous drugs and commended all security outfits in the state for the existing synergy between them in combating crime in the state.
