NIGERIA: The Nigeria Customs Service in Cross River State on Saturday impounded about 5,000 pieces of used tyres, popularly known as ‘tokunbo’ tyres, worth over N20m. Customs Area Comptroller in charge of Cross River, Akwa Ibom and the Calabar Free Trade Zone, Mr. Nicholas Oshomah, told Southern City News in Calabar the tyres were seized following an intelligence report. Oshomah, who said Ibeno in Akwa Ibom State was under surveillance for three days, however, disclosed that no arrests were made.
He said, “When we got there, we studied the situation and because we had encountered this kind of situation before where miscreants came to attack our officers, I quickly mobilised my other units. “We got in contact with the federal operations unit and also the comptroller in charge of marine, Eastern Marine Command, and they mobilised officers from Oron.
“They joined my officers and laid surveillance since Tuesday before we were able to recover all the tyres from the water. Unfortunately, we could not arrest anybody because the place was very far inside the creeks.”
While regretting that activities of smugglers were sabotaging the economy of the country, the customs comptroller said anybody caught would be made to face the full weight of the law. He said prohibited goods seized would be destroyed as they posed serious danger to the citizenry.
Oshomah advised people willing to be involved in trade facilitation to conduct such businesses in line with extant laws guiding importation and exportation. The tyres were conveyed to the Customs’ warehouse in Calabar in four trucks and four pick up vehicles.
