Thousands of bags of foreign rice, petroleum products, frozen poultry products, and vehicles among others with a cumulative Duty Paid Value (DPV) ofN311,924,551.92 have been intercepted by men of the Ogun 1 Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service.
The seizure was disclosed by the Customs Area Controller in charge of the Command, Comptroller Bamidele Makinde during a press briefing held at the Idiroko Area Command in the month of July 2022.
Makinde said: “The Command during its intensive and intelligence-based anti-smuggling operations recorded a seizure of 3154 bags of foreign parboiled rice of 50kg each (an equivalent of 5trailer loads). This quantity of rice, if allowed into the Nigerian market would have harmed the Federal Government Rice Policy aimed at providing staple food at affordable prices and employment to jobless citizens.”
‘’Other seizures recorded are: 8 units of used vehicles (means of conveyance ), 6 units of used Motorcycles (means of conveyance), 153 Bales and 68 sacks of used clothing.
‘’Others are: 79 sacks of used shoes, 111 cartons and 220 pieces of foreign wines, 301 pieces of used tyres, 724 Kegs of 25 litres each (18,100 litres)of PMS: 310 cartons of frozen Poultry products, 16 sacks of used bags.
Makinde noted that during the period under review, the Command generated a total sum of Thirteen Million, Eight Hundred and Forty-Eight Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy Naira, Zero Kobo
(N13,848,370.00) only from import duty and auction sales of petroleum products (PMS)intercepted during anti-smuggling operations.
He added: “A Lagos State registration no. EKY 971 YE belonging to Dangote group of companies, loaded with 75 bags of foreign parboiled rice of 50kg each concealed with 900 bags of Dangote cement was intercepted along Ibeshe road, Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, in the early hours of Sunday, 21st August 2022. Another Dangote truck with Kano State registration no. BCH 531 XA loaded with 228 bags of smuggled foreign parboiled rice of 50 kg each concealed with some bags of Dangote cement along Lafenwa, Abeokuta axis, Ogun State.”