ABUJA: Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has gone tough on smugglers as two zonal commands seized goods worth over N266 million.
Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘A’ Ikeja seized N56,479,200 worth of goods; while its Zone ‘C’ Command in Owerri, the Imo State capital, impounded over N200 million worth of goods.
The goods are 4,480 cartons of foreign Eva soap, 714 cartons of fake drugs and others with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N219,375,479.
All the goods do not have NAFDAC registration numbers.
Its Area Controller, David Dimka told The Nation that the items included 1,920 cartons of banned mosquito coils with a Duty Paid Value of N38,400,000.
The driver and the vehicle conveying the fakle drugs, Dimka said, were arrested and may be prosecuted after investigation.
Contrary to the laws that all inscriptions on imported items must be written in English, investigation revealed that the leaflets were written in Chinese. The items also do not have country of origin, manufacture and expiry dates.
“We have more often than not warned on the dangers of using second-hand tyres because most of them, if not expired, are discarded by their country of origin and Nigerians import them and use same to kill human beings without listening to the words of reason from the government not to kill their brothers and sisters with something that is bad. The FRSC is in a better position to tell us how many lives have been lost on the roads as a result of the use of second-hand tyres by motorists,” Dimka said
He stressed the need for Nigerians to comply with the government’s regulations, and stop those sabotaging the economy.
Dimka said he was unhappy that some uncharitable people smuggle in fake drugs to kill their fellow human beings, adding that those involved in the business are helping his men in their investigation.
Mrs. Esther Itua, Dimka said, received the seized items on behalf of the Director-General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii.
Findings also revealed that the Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, Lagos seized goods worth N56,479,200.
The seized items included 1,887 bags of parboiled rice with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N12,256,500; 4,854 cartons of smuggled poultry products with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N26,211,600 and two vehicles with DPV of N9,990,000.
Other items seized by the officers of the unit are new and used tyres, textile materials, vegetable oil, used shoes, fruit juice and spagetti worth over N8 million.
Its Area Controller, Amade Abdul, said his men are committed to the fight against smuggling.
“We will not just maintain standards, we will also ensure that we improve on the standard of discipline, decision making and level of compliance to rules and regulations; we will ensure due diligence and that things are not done haphazardlly, because if they are done haphazardly it will affect the revenue generation,” he said.
He warned smugglers to desist from their illicit act or be ready to face the law.
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