The Customs has impounded over 250 exotic vehicles estimated at N200 million after bursting a smuggling ring.
Security sources at the Seme border told The Nation that the vehicles were brought in from Lome (Togo), Accra (Ghana) and Cotonou (Benin).
Last Friday, armed Customs officers were seen moving the vehicles from towns before Gbaji River to their office at Seme. The vehicles include Lexus, Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Prado, Mercedes Benz C-Class, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Avensis, Honda Civic cars, Honda Odyssey, Grand Cherokee Jeep, Honda CR-V, Toyota Space Bus, Nissan Pathfinder and Honda Pilot.
Some of the vehicles, a source said, were ferried into the country through the Gbaji River.
It was learnt that the smugglers used the new number plates on some of the vehicles as a decoy to beat Customs’ checks. But unknown to them, Customs officials had been monitoring their movement at Owode, Owode-Apa and Gbaji for over four days before swooping on them.
The Seme Command, the source said, deployed over 20 officers in mufti in some of the communities to track the smuggled vehicles. Smuggling is said to be on the increase, following the new auto policy which took effect on February 28.
The policy imposes higher tariffs on imported vehicles.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Ernest Olottah, said when some of the smugglers saw the Customs team at Gbaji, they abandoned the vehicles and jumped into the river to evade arrest.
He said the anti-smuggling drive was part of the Customs’ move to enforce the new auto policy, prevent the influx of prohibited goods and boost the economy.
Last October, the government unveiled new duties and levies for imported new and used vehicles, and imported new tyres.
Under the policy, a fully built car will attract 35 per cent duty and another 35 per cent levy of the vehicle cost, raising the tariff from 20 per cent to 70 per cent.
The implementation of the policy, Olottah said, took effect from last Friday, adding that the policy seeks to encourage the growth of local industries and discourage the importation of tokunbo vehicles.
The Command, he said, had not received any order from Abuja banning the importation of used vehicles.
He said the Area Controller has introduced community relation, which has triggered synergy and collaboration with the community leaders, assisting the Command to fish out the smugglers.
He said: “For criminal gangs that specialised in tokunbo vehicles’ smuggling, they may believe it is the new cash cow because of the new auto policy introduced by the government, and that is why we have collaborated with community leaders and held meetings with importers operating in this area on the need for them to pay government duty on imported vehicles.
“It is the same groups that are responsible for smuggling of rice, narcotics, counterfeit medical products that are smuggling vehicles.
“We understand that for many youths in the communities around this area, smuggling has become a socially acceptable trade. But when the new Controller assumed office at Seme about three months ago, he introduced community relations which has triggered synergy and collaboration with the community leaders and some of the youths who are now working with Customs to fish-out the smugglers and stem all acts of criminality in the border area.
“The criminal gangs are using increasingly creative means to bring smuggled vehicles and other prohibited items into the country, but we have also mapped out strategies on how to intercept the smuggled goods and arrest the criminals involved.”
