ABUJA: The anti-corruption crusade of Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col Hamed Ali (rtd) is facing litmus test.
Investigation by The Nation revealed that some vehicles were released from the Lagos port about two weeks ago, without due process and stakeholders are waiting to see what Ali will do to those that committed the crime.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operation Unit (FOU), Zone ‘A’, Ikeja, Lagos seized 17 vehicles estimated at over N200 million. The vehicles, investigation revealed, are at the government warehouse in Ikeja.
Will officers, importers and clearing agents involved be sacked or prosecuted as promised by Ali, to boost the anti-corruption campaign of the Federal Government and deter others? This is the question industry watchers, want Ali to answer in the next few weeks.
The vehicles, it was gatherd, were seized by FOU officers, following the busting of a smuggling ring that specialised in importing vehicles through the seaports without paying the necessary duty.
Officers who released the vehicles from the ports are now in trouble.
A source said most of the vehicles, including new 2015 Toyota Camry and Prado, passed through the Lagos ports without paying the 70 per cent duty. They added that the importers and clearing agents declared the cargoes as used cars purportedly manufactured in 2004 and 2005 to deceive the Customs and short-change the Federal Government.
The market value of the Prado Jeep, security sources said, is about N14 million and the importer was expected to pay N6 million duty on it . The importer, it was alleged, paid N1 million to get the vehicles out of the port.
Some of the vehicles, sources alleged, have no Customs paper.
The officers responsible for the release of the vehicles, it was gathered, may be sacked in the spirit of the anti-corruption stance of Ali.
Some of the vehicles, a source said, were released from the port at night to beat security checks.
It was learnt that some of the importers used number plates to beat Customs’ checks on the road. But, unknown to them, Customs officials from the FOU Zone ‘A’ had been monitoring their movement in Lagos for over 10 days before swooping on them.
Its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Uche Ejesieme, confirmed that some new vehicles were intercepted by officers and men of the unit, but refused to mention the number and the value. The Customs headquarters had been briefed, he said.
“The vehicles were intercepted by our officers following a tip-off. We are yet to determine the value of the vehicles because investigation is still on.
“Our controller, Abdul, has urged smugglers in the Southwest to relocate or else they would face the full wrath of the law.
“We have spread our dragnets to the nooks and crannies of our areas of jurisdiction and would not stop at dealing with the menace,” he assured.
