Customs seize 875 bags of foreign rice, other goods worth N40m

The Customs Service, Seme Border Area Command, says it has intercepted 875 bags of foreign parboiled rice and other goods, valued at N40m, in two weeks.

ASC Nuruddeen Saidu, the Customs Public Relations Officer, Seme, Area Command, disclosed this in a statement on Monday, in Lagos.

The statement quoted that the Customs Area Controller of the Command, Comptroller Mohammed Garba, as saying that the efforts of the enforcement unit of the Command, with regard to suppression of smuggling, was yielding remarkable results.

According to the controller, the goods seized include 875 bags of 50 kilogram bags of foreign parboiled rice, with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N15m, 12 Jerrycans of vegetable oil with DPV of N131,625.

They also include six bags of refined sugar with DPV of N147,640, 535 bales of used clothes with DPV of N17,259,769 and 20 parcels of cannabis sativa, with street value of N516,180.

Among items also seized are 269 baskets of fresh tomatoes, one basket of fresh pepper, 7 sacks of cucumber and pineapples and 16 baskets of fresh okro, with DPV of N367,471.

He also listed 16 sacks of used shoes, belt and ladies bags, with DPV of N541,989, 57 pieces of textiles wrappers, with DPV of N367,778, 65 cartons of poultry products, with DPV of N948,333 and 137 Jerry cans of petrol with DPV of N287,700. 16 among other items.

Garba said that one of the vehicles used for conveying the contraband goods was a Toyota Hiace bus, worth N2,907,450, believed to be coming from Ghana.

“Upon careful examination at the baggage inward hall, it was discovered to contain five parcels of items suspected to be cannabis sativa, concealed in the bus.

“Consequently, the bus driver, bus boy and the cargo handler, were all promptly arrested and detained.

“The command, in the spirit of inter-agency cooperation and synergy, handed over the said items and the suspects to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further prosecution,” he said.

Garba promised that the Nigeria Customs Service would continue to complement the efforts of the NDLEA in its fight to rid the nation of illicit substances.

He reiterated the command’s commitment to the strict implementation of the federal government’s fiscal policies and the extant laws that govern the day to day operation of the service at the international corridor.