The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operation Unit (FOU), Zone ‘A’, said it seized N746.2 million worth of goods smuggled into the country from the Republic of Benin and arrested 10 suspects.
Speaking at a press briefing, yesterday, the Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the unit, Hussein Ejibunu, gave a breakdown of the seizures made in April to include, 14 trailer loads of foreign parboiled rice, 2,428 X 25 liters of premium motor spirit (PMS) and 221 cartons of foreign frozen poultry.
Others are 486 parcels (262kg) of Indian hemp, four units of foreign used vehicles, 111 pieces of used tyres, 10 bales of used clothing and eight sacks of used shoes.
He disclosed that the unit, through the Federal High Court, had secured eight convictions in the last 10 months, while 48 different cases are at various stages of prosecution.
Ejibunu said the unit’s anti-smuggling activities are to dissuade smugglers and duty evaders from their illegal activities while encouraging law-abiding business people to stay on the path of legitimacy.
He said in the unit’s continuous quest to prevent revenue loss through various infractions such as under-valuation, under-payments and wrong classification. It collected a total of N66.7 million following the issuance of demand notices to defaulters.
Ejibunu warned importers, exporters, haulage operators and their agents to operate within the ambit of the law as doing otherwise placed them at risk of losing their investments and prosecution as contained in the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA).
He said perpetrators of these criminal activities are not unaware of what the law says despite a series of enlightenment to them through different ways.
Ejibunu also warned the public that just as smuggling remains a crime and not a business, the customs unit will continue to protect the nation’s economy passionately pursued, while the fight against economic saboteurs remains on the front burner.
He cautioned that anyone who puts in his savings or obtains a loan to invest in any illegitimate business will have to contend with the attendant consequences of such choices when the law takes its natural course.
“While the smugglers planned to take us unaware during the religious festivities, our round-the-clock patrols were sustained and backed with intelligence even during the public holidays. Interestingly, the outcome of our unrelenting onslaught against smuggling is the remarkable drop evident in the number of seizures recorded with zero casualties.
“No matter the mouth-watering returns people expect to make from smuggling, they should have it at the back of their minds that they stand the risk of losing their investment, prosecuted and jailed,” he noted.
