The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Oyo/Osun Area Command has seized no fewer than 853 bags of 50kg smuggled rice with duty paid value of 14 million, six hundred and three thousands, three sixty naira (N14,603,360).
The Command also intercepted another 395 kegs of 25 liters vegetable oil with duty paid value of three million, seven hundred and six thousand and one hundred and fifty nine naira (N3,706,159).
Customs Area Controller (CAC), in charge of Oyo and Osun States, Mr. Emmanuel Udo-Aka made the revelations while displaying the seized items before journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Wednesday.
The newly posted CAC while speaking on his achievements barely one month in office said though the smugglers took advantage of the recent mass deployment of officers and men in the NCS to indulge in their unwholesome activities but the service will not relent on its oars in the fight against smuggling.
He said “A 12-tyre DAF truck loaded with 50kg bags of smuggled foreign rice covered with tapoline was intercepted on the 15th of May, 2017 along Ife-Ibadan expressway Oyo State.
“Again, two Mazda buses conveying smuggled foreign rice were also impounded along Oko-Ifon Road, Osun State on the Saturday 20th May 2017.
“Just early this morning being 24th May 2017 at about 12:am, another four Mazda buses carrying bags of rice and kegs of foreign vegetable oil were intercepted along Iseyin-Oyo Road by our patrol team. However, no suspect was arrested, as the drivers and conductors abandoned their vehicles and ran away.
“The smugglers took advantage of the recent mass deployment of officers and men in Nigeria Customs Service to indulge in their unwholesome activities with the belief that we will caught off guard.
“We will continue to reiterate our stand of zero tolerance for revenue leakage and reduction of smuggling to the barest minimum, by bringing the economic saboteurs to book and to face the long arm of the law.
Udo-Aka said the items are not safe for consumption, therefore there is a need to seized them.
“These seized bags of rice have been stored in warehouse in Benin Republic without proper pest control, making them prone to all manner of pest. We should also understand that most of these smuggled products have exceeded their shelf life, and therefore expired and are not safe for consumption. Yet they are re-bagged and re-labelled and dumped in our country.
Udo-Aka then called on the people to support the service in checkmating smuggling saying that the economy will improve if all hands are on the desk to check smuggling.
“We also know that as long as smuggling thrives our economy will never pick up, our industries will do well if smuggling is checked. Smuggling kills the economy but enriches the smuggler.
“We appeal to well-meaning citizens of Nigeria to willingly assist in volunteering information about the smugglers, their agents and collaborators and we promise to treat any given information with utmost confidentiality.
