Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Sokoto/Zamfara Area Command, has intercepted assorted contraband goods with a Duty Paid Value of N721.9 million.
The Acting Customs Area Controller of the Command, Deputy Comptroller Haliru Isah Abdullahi, disclosed this on Thursday at a press briefing held at the Command Headquarters in Sokoto.
Abdullahi said the seizures were made in line with the policy thrust of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, which emphasises consolidation, collaboration and innovation.
He said despite insecurity in parts of the two states, operatives of the Command have sustained anti-smuggling operations to secure the borders and protect the nation’s economy.
Giving a breakdown of the seizures, the Controller listed one used DAF truck with registration number JEG 199 XA and Chassis No. XLRAS85WCOE421859 used as means of conveyance, 599 bales of second-hand clothes and seven sacks of second-hand women’s bags.
Other items, according to him, include 43 cartons of cigarettes, seven cartons of Akouna coffee and a large quantity of unregistered pharmaceutical products.
He listed the pharmaceutical products as 100 packages of quinine, 500 packages of amodiaquine, 140 packages of paracetamol, 300 packages of anti-cold tablets, one carton of analgesic injections, two cartons of Dynewell syrup, one carton of Dynewell tablets and one carton of Clear Cold.
Abdullahi put the cumulative Duty Paid Value (DPV) of the seized items at N721,957,021.41.
He said the actions of operatives were in line with the provisions of Sections 245 and 248 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, which empowers the Service to seize and condemn any goods liable to forfeiture.
The Acting Controller appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to provide credible information that would aid the eradication of smuggling, noting that curbing the menace would prevent consumption of unregistered drugs that pose grave danger to citizens’ health.
He also warned smugglers and their collaborators to desist from the nefarious act, stressing that the Command under his watch would not be a safe haven for economic saboteurs.
Abdullahi commended the Comptroller-General of Customs, officers and men of the Command for their resilience, sister security agencies for their collaboration and members of the press for their support in sensitising the public.
He reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to facilitating legitimate trade, collecting revenue for national development and suppressing smuggling to the barest minimum.