From Anthony Nwachukwu, Lagos
In a renewed onslaught against smuggling in its different forms, the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone A, Lagos, of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it intercepted contraband with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N818.1 million in May 2022.
It also raised N64.3 miilion from Demand Notices on underpaid and under-declared cleared goods, which has been paid into the Federal Government’s coffers.
Showcasing the items, Ag. Compt. Hussein Ejibunu told newsmen in Lagos Thursday that 14 suspects were arrested in connection with the seizures made at various locations within the (South-western) zone.
“During the preceding month, officers of this unit were on high alert along the port and the border corridors to protect the national economy from the activities of recalcitrant importers and traders,” Ejibunu stated.
“In the course of duty, various goods were intercepted for different offences, ranging from accurate duty payment evasion, concealment, under-declaration, false declaration and transfer of value, to smuggling.”
Among the seizures were: 9,917x50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice (over 16 truck-loads), 812x5Kg and 120x2kg bags of basmati rice, and 41,950 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), and 4x20ft containers of unprocessed wood.
The others included 1,041 bales of used clothes, five vehicles, 8,500 pieces of used tyres, 599 cartons of frozen poultry products, 116.3 kilograms of Indian Hemp, 29 motorcycles, 54 cartons of creams, 42 tiger generators and 3,260 pairs of used shoes.
He explained that upon painstaking documentary checks on some already released cargoes, duties found to have been under-paid were reviewed and demand notices issued.
According to him, the unit had re-strategized its operations to block revenue leakages and curb the import/export of prohibited goods.
“While undertaking this great task, we employed intelligence and meticulous documentary checks to recover the noticeably lost revenues, intercepted goods suspected to have contravened customs laws and seized those under the prohibition lists.”
He attributed the number of smugglers scrambling to import foreign parboiled rice in large quantities to the desire by a majority of Nigerians to consume the product.
However, “citizens are reminded of the need to support and key into the Federal Government’s policy aimed at supporting the growth of its local products.
“Once again, I thank patriotic citizens that provided information that led to the seizure of some un-conspicuous concealments. Likewise, our gratitude also goes to all compliant agents, importers and traders for their compliance.
“While we appreciate your sense of patriotism, on our part, we shall never relent in facilitating your genuine and legitimate businesses.
“I urge you to continue doing more to safeguard the economy of our dear country, while enjoining all unrepentant economic saboteurs to embrace genuine businesses or face the wrath of the law.”
