The Nigerian Custom Service (NCS), during 2020 Yuletide, intercepted 5,200 live ammunition and bulletproof Toyota Landcruiser.
The Controller, Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘C’, Mr Yusuf Lawal, who displayed the items to the media in Owerri on Thursday, said the seizures were made between Nov. 23 and Dec. 27, 2020.
Giving a breakdown of the items, Yusuf said the Duty Paid Value (DPV) of the live ammunition was N3 million, while the DPV of the foreign rice was N36 million.
He added that the DPV of the bulletproof Landcruiser and the other three vehicles seized during the period was N221 million.
Yusuf disclosed that N7 million was recovered from a Demand Notice (DN) on 3X40ft containers which, he said, was as a result of wrong declaration and transfer of value.
“The live ammunition,” he explained, “was intercepted along Nwezenyi Ikom road in Cross River, while the 1,215 bags of rice were intercepted on Okada road in Edo and the tomatoes and pharmaceuticals were intercepted along Onitsha Enugu expressway.
“Today, I’m elated to inform you that after reflecting and reviewing our operational modalities toward sustaining our statutory mandate of anti-smuggling operations, we have intercepted various contraband.
“On assumption of duty, I held series of meetings with my sectional heads, where we unveiled the management mandate which includes blockage of all revenue leakages and amplification of ant-smuggling operations.”
He noted that the said total amount of DPV and DN of the seizures made during the period was N386 million.
Yusuf said the activities of smugglers were great sabotage to the Nigerian economy.
He said: “Considering the level of insecurity in the country, if these live ammunition were not intercepted, the country would have been in trouble.
“These seizures were made since I took over as the Controller, Federal Operations Zone ‘C’; we will not give up the fight against smuggling in the country.”
©Copyright MOTORING WORLD INTERNATIONAL.
All rights reserved. Materials, photographs, illustrations and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior written permission from Motoring World International
Contact: [email protected]
