ABUJA: The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Federal Operation Unit (FOU) Zone ‘A’, Ikeja, Lagos, has smashed a trans-border smuggling ring. The gang, which smuggles rice, used cars, women and children’s shoes, was ambushed by Customs officials at Ere in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, following a tip-off by Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU) officers. Rice worth over N35 million was said to have been seized from the gang last week. Customs officials, it was gathered, monitored the gang for over six days before clamping down on them at Ere. The FOU, sources said, deployed over 25 officers, who wer assisted by soldiers to deal with the gang. It was gathered that the team faced stiff resistance from the smugglers, but its doggedness forced the smugglers to surrender. CIU officers from the unit have also turned the heat on smugglers at the border areas under their jurisdiction.
The Area Controller of the Unit, Mohammed Uba Garba, said: “Based on information, we trailed and evacuated 3, 000 bags of smuggled rice from 10 houses along the waterside in Ere Village in Ado-Odo Local Government area of Ogun State. “Each of the houses has three exit doors for their nefarious activities. As we were evacuating the rice from one house to the other, the villagers were also busy packing the rice to the bush through other exits. That is to tell you the extent some people take risk while indulging in smuggling.’’ He said his officers had strengthened their presence at the official checkpoints and swampy areas where vehicles cannot access. Last Saturday, some CIU officers were seen in mufti combing the bushes at Imeko area of Ogun State looking for smugglers’ hideouts. The team parades approved and unapproved routes in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Ondo states to checkmate criminalities by the smugglers.
A senior CIU officer, who spoke with The Nation under the condition of anonymity, said the anti-smuggling drive of the Customs was part of the government’s move to protect the economy and stem the influx of prohibited goods. He said: “By smuggling what Nigeria has the capacity to produce locally like rice, we are inadvertently sustaining the employment of some unknown foreigners elsewhere, while keeping some of our able-bodied youths out of job. “The service is not unaware of the smugglers’ drive to beat us by applying unusual means, especially as we have efficiently and strategically positioned our officers on the bush paths and other likely routes they may wish to take. But the truth is that wherever the smugglers are, we are there monitoring their movement to arrest and prosecute them,” he said. The CIU officer said continuous education and enlightenment in the simplest forms of communication were among the strategies the Service has adopted to keep the locals informed and mobilised in supporting Customs’ efforts at a more economically viable and secured nation. He said some notable residents of the areas had also joined in expanding Customs’ intelligence network as it maximises their knowledge of the terrain to achieve its aim, urging their youths to explore the many legitimate means of livelihoods outside smuggling. ‘’The desire of Customs is to reduce smuggling across the nation. That is why the Service has directed the Area Controllers to be meeting with the representatives of the various communities as part of its effort to build and sustain a robust Customs community relation. The agenda for these meetings include asking them to pass the anti smuggling message to the people,” the officer said. He added that the Service was also passing the message to Nigerians, too, stressing people have been advised to obey the laws of the land, including import and export-related laws.
“Smuggling is a crime and the more we educate people about it, the better. We achieve prevention through encouraging people to import normally and pay duty to the government. “We have been utilising every opportunity at various fora to enlighten the citizenry on the ills of smuggling and this is an area where we also seek collaboration with the mass media,” he said. Officers of the unit, a source said, have been positioned at strategic locations to deal with smugglers who might attempt to bring prohibited items into the country. CIU officers are employing measures to make smuggling unattractive and un-lucrative for those engaged in the illegal business. Officers of the unit, findings revealed, had stepped up their anti-smuggling efforts to boost the nation’s revenue. Officers of the unit carry out anti-smuggling campaigns in all areas, which hitherto provided a safe haven for smugglers and disrupts the economic activities of those patronising the smugglers in the area, the source said. The CIU officers have achieved a commendable breakthrough in anti-smuggling in the area given the volume of seizures the unit has recorded. Findings, however, revealed that some of the strategies adopted by the unit in its crusade included intelligence gathering system, recruitment of useful informants and 24-hour surveillance along smuggling corridors to reduce saboteurs’ activities. The CIU officers have sent many smugglers out of business with of their unique approach.
