NIGERIA: Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has recorded a total of 363 seizures of illegally imported items with a duty paid value (DPV) of N1.8 billion in 2014.
The unit, during the same period, also discovered under-payment of N71.7 million.
In a statement issued in Owerri and signed by the Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Ifeoma Onuigbo, Dimka said 104 arrests were made with 134 cases pending in the court.
Giving details of the summary of seizures recorded, the CAC disclosed that vehicles alone topped the list of the items totaling 237, of which 209 vehicles were with fake documents while 28 were abandoned.
According to him, the highest numbers of seizures were recorded in April, September and December apparently due to increased desperation of the smugglers during the months just as the highest DPV were made in the months of April and September precisely.
He attributed the giant strides to the support and motivation of the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Alhaji Inde Dikko Abdullahi and his management team.
He said: “We acknowledge the continued invaluable support and encouragement of the Comptroller-General of Customs which has spurred, motivated and encourage them in the discharge of their anti-smuggling activities which has culminated into harvest of seizures recorded in the year 2014”.
The CAC also assured Nigerians that intensive and aggressive patrol operations will be carried out to ensure absolute compliance to laws, in order to nip the activities of smugglers in the bud, in this year.
He called on Nigerians to always avail the unit with relevant information that could lead to tracking of smugglers while also promising that the identity of such patriotic informants would be treated with utmost confidentiality.
Dimka also warned smugglers to have a rethink as the service has no sympathy for what he called “unpatriotic acts”.
He promised that genuine importers and freight forwarders will continue to enjoy the support and benevolence of the NCS in line with the statutory roles and responsibilities of the service which include anti-smuggling, revenue generation and trade facilitation.
