WASHINGTON: The Federal Operations Unit Zone C, Owerri of Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has intercepted and detained a huge consignment of medicaments with a duty paid value of N178.2 million. The command also recorded 17 seizures of contraband items with duty paid value of N112.6 million, bringing the revenue figures to N250.9 million in March 2017. The Customs Area Controller of the command, Comptroller Mohammed Garba, who disclosed this added that the unit recovered N48.7million as underpayments in the same period. He said: “The medicaments include 268 cartons of Tramadol, 202 cartons of Pullegra, 36 cartons of Reall Octra, 928 packets of Tramadol.
A sample of the various medicaments has been sent to the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC, for tests and verification while the consignment is being detained for further investigations. Giving a breakdown of the seizures, he said: “Rice topped the list of seized items with a total of 2,455 bags worth N77.5 million, 1,266 footwears worth N6 million, used tyres worth N3.7 million, used shoes with duty paid value of N8 million and 40 bales of used clothings with duty paid value of N5.2 million. The unit also made seizure of three vehicles estimated at N4 million.” He advised smugglers as well as fraudulent importers to channel their resources towards legitimate trade and economic ventures, as the NCS and indeed the zone, will not renege on its statutory functions of suppression smuggling.
