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Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The Kebbi State Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has confirmed that it has impounded and seized various smuggled items with a street value of about N253 million within three months.
The Customs Areas Controller of the state, Comptroller Yusuf Garba, who confirmed the report during a press conference in Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday, explained that the Command had recorded the giant strides in their anti-smuggling activities from February 10th to May 10th.
Some of the seized smuggled goods include 22,750 pieces of new textile materials, four trucks fully loaded with hides and skins and 1,055 bags of 50 kg, 50 bags of 100kg and 20 cartons of 25kg each of foreign parboiled rice.
‘Given the position of Kebbi State, which shares borders with two of our neighbours, Niger Republic to the west and Benin Republic to the south, the Command is mainly saddled with anti-smuggling activities now that our land borders are partially closed,’ the state comptroller said.
‘We have recorded giant strides in our anti-smuggling activities culminating in the seizure 22,750 pieces of new textile materials, four trucks fully loaded with hides and skins and 1,055 bags of 50 kg, 50 bags of 100kg and 20 cartons of 25kg each of foreign parboiled rice.
‘Others are 3,159 bags of 50 kg each of foreign NPK fertiliser, 171 bales of second-hand clothes and used footwear, 256 cartons of lightening cream and 90 sacks of power snuff as well as 43 vehicles and other sundry items,’ he added.
According to Garba, the duty paid value of the seized items is over N253 million.
He also added that the Command had seized 73,438 litres of petroleum products at different locations meant yo be smuggled out of the country within the period under review.
‘Owing to the combustible nature of the products, they have since been auctioned to the public along with other perishable items with the proceeds amounting to N16.5 million remitted to the Federal Government coffers in accordance with extant laws.’
The comptroller reiterated his Command’s stance on zero tolerance for smuggling activities while calling on all economic saboteurs to embrace legitimate lines of business in the state.
