OWERRI: The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone ‘C’, Owerri, seized 226 contraband items with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N1,016,833,292.
It also arrested 129 suspects in connection with the smuggling of various contraband goods between January and June this year, while 118 cases are pending in various courts within the zone.
The Customs Area Controller, Dimka Victor David, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the seizures recorded by his unit within the first half of year 2015.
He stated that the unit recorded 63 seizures in March with a DPV of N337,368,522, which according to him, was the highest seizure.
Within the period under review, the unit made 25 arrests, David added.
The figure, he said, was at variance with 37 seizures with a DPV of N176,483,600 made in January, 40 seizures with of DPV of N136,708,650 in February, 37 seizures with DPV of N83,302,620 in April, 42 seizures with DPV of N141,228,100 in May and 47 seizures with DPV of N138, 341,400 in June.
He attributed the large haul in March to stronger quest for materialism by the suspects involved in an ever-increasing corruption prone society.
