From Anthony Nwachukwu, Lagos
In a hugely successful offensive against smuggling, the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it captured contrabands with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N10 billion in a single seizure.
The Acting Area Controller, Usman Yahaya, said the seizures, comprising 34 assorted brand new and fairly-used vehicles laden with second-hand clothes, Indian hemp and foreign parboiled rice, were made in one day at Ido-Eruwa Road in Oyo State.
“Some economic saboteurs met their waterloo when our operatives acted based on credible information and made a single seizure at Ido, Eruwa Road, Ibadan,” a statement by the Command Public Relations Officer, Peter Duniya, cited Yahaya to say.
Yahaya noted that though the smugglers were backed by hoodlums in their efforts to resist the operatives, the government agents displayed high level of professionalism and restraint to secure the items to the Customs warehouse in Lagos.
“Our operatives met stiff resistance from a combination of smugglers, hoodlums and villagers. However, with the application of high level of professionalism, the patrol teams were able to bring all the vehicles down to Lagos without any casualty,” he said.
“While we appreciate the support and cooperation of the patriotic public in providing timely and useful information, recalcitrant economic saboteurs should note that they would continue to count their losses because we are better mobilised, organised and backed by the extant laws to be always ahead of them.”
