The Nation Newspaper

Tag: customs

  • Publish vehicles charges, importers urge Customs

    How much does it cost to clear a vehicle at the ports? This is the question terminal operators, importers and Nigerians in Diaspora are demanding an answer to from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

    They have asked the Customs Comptroller-General (CCG), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), to publish the cost in newspapers and on the website.

    The measure, they said, would end excessive human traffic and corruption at the ports.

    Customs, importers said, must collaborate with operators and shipping firms to arrive at a uniform tariff to reduce human contact and boost efficiency at the ports.

    They noted that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), among others, should display their charges on their portals.

    The publication, they said, would help the Federal Government to plug revenue leakages and make Nigerian ports the leading ones in West and Central Africa.

    An importer, Mr. Festus Akande, said no one could predict what importers would pay when they bring goods to the ports. He urged the government to address the problem to improve service delivery and generate more revenue.

    The ports, he said, were competing with others in the sub-region, fueling the need to make charges public.

    Akande urged the NPA management to design a plan for a model terminal to promote competition, boost efficiency and make the ports attractive. He noted that in the last 10 years, the NPA operated the landlord model of port operation without the much-needed competition among private operators.

    “Nigeria loses cargoes to ports of neighbouring countries because many importers don’t know the actual amount they are going to pay when they bring their goods to the ports.

    “The era of imposing arbitrary charges that have often been described by importers, exporters and clearing agents as uncharitable will end if all the agencies and the operators are mandated by the Federal Government to make their charges public.

    “NPA as the landlord must check excessive charges against importers to reduce prices of imported goods and make the ports competitive and attractive for business.

    “We want Customs and agencies operating in the ports which include the NPA, the  Plant Quarantine, NIMASA, and others to up their game,” Akande said.

    A senior official of one of the terminals in Lagos, who craved anonymity, bemoaned high rate of human interface in Customs offices at the ports and urged Col Ali to address the issue.

    When The Nation visited the Apapa port, clearing agents were everywhere, moving with their files from one office to another for most of the businesses that can be transacted online without leaving the comfort of their offices for the port.

    Col. Ali, importers said, must curb the excesses of his men and ensure the adoption of a duty benchmark on fairly used vehicles, popularlly called Tokunbo.

    “For years, the Customs has operated without a benchmark for used vehicles. The agency fixes duty at will, depending on who is importing.

    “Some officers are exploiting the absence of a clear-cut policy on benchmark to extort importers and their agents, despite Ali’s warnings against corruption.

    “For selfish reasons, some Customs officers are also working against making the ports attractive for business. Therefore, the Federal Government needs to design anti-corruption policies that will stem the loss of cargoes from Nigeria to neighbouring countries.

    “The absence of a benchmark has created opportunities for Customs officials to take bribes from importers and their clearing agents.

    “Despite the age limit imposed on imported Tokunbo vehicles, it is sad that no Nigerian bringing any type of the approved vehicle into the country knows the actual amount he or she is going to pay as Customs duty.

    “But the situation is not so in our neighbouring ports. At Apapa and Tin Can ports, direct interaction between clearing agents and Customs officials is high since most clearing documentation on used vehicles are not processed online,” the source said.Clearance documentations, according to the source, are submitted physically.

    The source continued: “This high level of corruption in our ports will affect the efforts of the current management of NPA to reposition the ports for better efficiency and the hub in the sub-region. Corrupt practices are also jeopardising the ability of the NSC to secure commercial opportunities in cargo transport to nearby landlocked countries.

    “Despite the successful ports concession programme, the concession benefit is hampered by corruption, poor infrastructure and the high cost of doing business.”

    The source blamed  the ports’ bureaucracy for the problem, saying: “The bribery takes two forms, for example: Collusive corruption,1 where the clearing agents and Customs officials benefit from an illicit deal, such as paying to evade duty, and coercive bribery or extortion, which benefit only corrupt Customs official.”

  • Customs realises over N157b in 3 months

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) raked in over N157 billion in three months at Lagos ports, it was learnt.

    The amount, findings revealed, was generated by the Apapa and Tin-Can Island Customs commands between January and last month.

    At Apapa Port, the Service collected over N81 billion; the Tin-Can Island Command generated over N76 billion.

    This is an increase of about N4 billion by the Apapa Command compared to the same period last year, and N14 billion by the Tin-Can Command.

    NCS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Apapa Command, Mrs. Nkeiru Nwala, said with the introduction of the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System II (NICIS II) in Apapa, expected to block revenue leakages as well as the repair of Apapa access roads, the Command would boost its revenue profile.

    She said on the command’s anti-smuggling fight in the first quarter, four 4×40 ft containers of controlled drugs, including tramadol in excess of approved milligrammes with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N110,016,524.00, were seized.

    She also said the Command in the first quarter of the year recorded about 280,000 metric tons of exports with a FOB value of $115,093,562.

    Mrs Nwala said the Customs Area Controller in charge of Apapa Command, Comptroller Jibril Musa, has continued to renew strategies and mechanisms for the effective implementation of the ease of doing business.

    “The Customs Area Controller, Jibril Musa has continued to reinvigorate all strategies and mechanisms put in place for the effective and efficient implementation of the Federal Government’s Executive order on the Ease of Doing Business. It is worthy of note that the NCS is the lead agency in the implementation of the presidential mandate and Apapa Area Command selected as the pilot command had since created the Central Examination Centre (CEC) where all stakeholders involved in cargo clearance conduct examination at an agreed time with reports imputed almost immediately. This synergy/interfacing had paid off remarkably as consignments with no record of infractions are released within 24 hours while those with infractions are referred to dispute resolutions committee for further interventions/investigations.’’

    She said Musa pledged to strengthen the relationship with relevant agencies in Apapa.

    “The CAC has pledged his resolve to keep strengthening the already robust working relationship/collaboration among all agencies of government for enhanced international trade facilitation. Within the period under review, he played host to different high-level government delegations from within and outside the country with a view of promoting efficiency and facilitation of trade in the country,” she said

    Tin-Can Island Command Public Relations Officer Uche Ejesieme said the Command had put in place measures that would enable the it to carry out its statutory mandate.

    Apart from Stakeholder Engagement, he said the service had embarked on training and re-training of its officers in line with the Federal Government’s trade facilitations policy.

    The image maker said efforts were being made to ensure the policies and programmes of the Command were tailored towards achieving efficiency and competitiveness in the trade value chain.

    “The command is at the vanguard of implementation of the Presidential Directive on Ease of Doing Business as the lead agency and have strengthened the relationship with other security/regulatory agencies for actualisation of the Presidential Directive on creating Enabling Business Environment at the Ports.

    “In the narrative of Revenue Collection for 2017 and 2018, the Command in the First Quarter of 2017 (January – March) generated a total of N61,839,825,487.91, whereas in the corresponding period of 2017, the command generated  N76,789,721,107.34.

    “Signifying a positive difference of  N14,949,895,619.43. Though the first quarter of each year is usually synonymous with low volume of trade, the migration to NICIS II platform by the Command, also contributed to some hiccups that affected declarations, but which we have surmounted,” he said.

  • Customs seizes 174,015 litres of petroleum products

    Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) spokesman Joseph Attah has said the agency seized 174,015 litres of petroleum products, valued at about N27 million last year.

    He told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that NCS had been doing much to stop illegal products from  being exported, and ensure that prohibited goods were not smuggled into the country.

    “In the case of petroleum products, the statistics here is that of January 2017 to January 2018. A total of 174,015 litres have been seized across the commands.

    “Further breakdown shows that within this period, 81,270 litres of petroleum products were seized at Seme border, 69,150 litres at West Martine Command, 10,000 litres at Federal Operations Unit Zone D, that is the Northeast.

    “In Sokoto, 1,775 litres were seized, 10,5,00 litres in Ogun, 1,320 litres in Adamawa/Taraba, totalling 174,015 litres with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N27, 755,492.

    “This is the value of what have been seized across the country by the NCS, in our efforts to ensure that petroleum products are not smuggled out of the country,’’ Attah said.

    He said there had been intensive anti-smuggling strategies to ensure that smuggling of goods was curbed.

    The spokesman said in February, Customs Comptroller-General Col. Hameed Ali, (retd), dissolved the compliance team and constituted a strike force under a new mandate.

    He said the idea was to ensure that the anti-smuggling team did not impede trade facilitation.

    Attah added that this is done in such a way that smugglers who escaped at the borders cannot get away from the strike force.

    He said the force had been stationed at strategic positions, adding that they will act when they receive information on smuggling of petroleum products and other goods.

    Attah said the challenge faced by the Customs was licensed filling stations in villages sharing borders with neighbouring countries.

    He complained of petrol stations along borders aiding  smuggling of petroleum products.

    Attah stressed the need for the authorities to review such licences.

    He said if anti-smuggling operatives sight tankers heading towards borders, and the tankers run into a licensed petroleum station, an officer would be unable to stop them.

    The spokesman said once the tankers offload products into such stations, one can never tell what happens at night, adding that the stations sell the products into jerry-cans and carry them on camel, donkey and motorcycles through footpath.

    “So, it makes the job of policing the movement of petroleum products on motorbikes more difficult. There are many border stations that have up to 30 to 40 filling stations.

    “So, a review on who get licensed and where the filling stations are going to be located should be considered before issuing licences. We believe this will be helpful in curtailing smuggling.

    “We will continue to ensure that petroleum products are not smuggled out. We will continue to be on the lookout and if we see three to four jerry-cans on motorcycles, we will go after them, because they may just be petroleum products being smuggled out,’’ he added.

    Attah said the agency was also deploying intelligence to strengthen its operations.

    According to him, “we will continue to deploy intelligence in such  a way that where we have good information, we sweep on it.

    ‘’Just like what was done at Seme about three months ago when over 2,000 jerry-cans of smuggled petroleum products were  seized by Customs officers.”

     

  • Customs seizes over N2.5b goods

    •Five suspects arrested

    Over N2.5 billion worth of goods were seized and five suspects arrested by the Federal Operation Unit (FOU), Zone ‘A’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ikeja, Lagos.

    The seizure and arrest were made between March 1 and 19.

    The Nation learnt that the officers made 89 seizures within 19 days.

    The seized items included 407 sacks of Pangolin scales worth over N2 billion, 16 posh vehicles, mostly 2017 model valued at N340 million,   7,201 bags of 50kg parboiled rice worth over N88 million, 1,172 cartons of imported frozen poultry products worth N7 million, 1,362 kegs of vegetable oil valued at N12 million and Ankara textile materials worth over N5 million.

    Others were 464 pieces of used tyres valued at N2.5 million and bales of second hand clothing worth over N6.9 million.

    Among the seized vehicles are two Lexus Sport Utility Vehicles (RS350 2016, 2017 model), one Rolls Royce, one Lincoln Limousine (2014), three Toyota Camry (2009, 2013 and 2017 models), one Toyota Rav 4, one Toyota Avalon (2016), one Toyota Tundra, one Dodge, among others.

    The 16 exotic vehicles, it was gathered, have a duty paid value of N340,770,509.

    Speaking with reporters in Lagos yesterday, the Area Comptroller, Mr. Mohammed Uba, said the over N2.5 billion worth of contrabands were recovered through interventions of the unit.

    He said: “While six vehicles were evacuated based on intelligence on Lekki-Epe Expressway, the remaining 10 were intercepted while on patrol at locations. The vehicles are still under detention pending the grace period allowed for the owners to bring relevant Customs papers.

    “In the spirit of inter-agency collaboration, the pangolin scales and the suspect will be handed over to the Nigeria Environment Standards and Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA) for further investigation, to protect our natural habitat and protect our endangered species. Five suspects have been arrested in connection with these 89 seizures.

    “Other items seized included new and used textile materials, new and used shoes, vegetable oil, insecticides, assorted wines, various types of spaghetti and noodles, soaps and detergents valued at N365,346,650, with a payable duty of N94,194,990 and a DPV of N459,541,640.

    “Among the seizures was the interception of eight trucks laden with 3,351 bags of rice and 669 jerry-cans of vegetable oil on Iseyin, Oyo/Osun axis and evacuation of 1,253 bags of rice from a warehouse in Ogbomosho, based on intelligence despite resistance.

    “We are happy to inform you that after an intensive onslaught on daredevil smugglers, deploying our tactical operational modalities, we have intercepted contrabands with a duty paid value (DPV) of N2,557,261,280.”

    The controller said the ban on importation of foreign rice through the land was to encourage efficiency in local production.

     

  • Shippers to submit manifest to Customs, NPA seven days in advance

    The Federal Government has directed shipping companies to give their cargo manifest to the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) seven days before their ships arrive at the ports.

    The advance manifest, it was gathered, will enable the government to know the cargoes’details  and the risks before the vessels’ arrival.

    The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) issued the directive during its meeting at the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) office in Lagos.

    Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment Dr Jumoke Oduwole said the directive became imperative because of the government’s determination to enthrone global best practices and facilitate trade.

    To ensure compliance with the Executive Order on 24-hour ports operations, Oduwole said the government had instructed that shipping agencies must submit their   manifest electronically to the Customs and NPA seven days before the arrival of any vessel.

    The measure, she said, would ensure that risk management is profiled and separated on time before the ship’s arrival.

    The President Muhmmadu Buhari administration, she said, was focusing on issues causing insecurity, inefficiency and delay at the ports.

    NSC Executive Secretary, Mr Hassan Bello, said the measure became necessary to achieve better service delivery.

    He said the manifest would ensure security risk assessment before the ship and the cargoes arrival.

    The measure, he said, would address delays in cargo placement and offloading.

    Bello called on shipping companies and government agencies to work together to achieve the seven-day deadline.

    He implored agencies at the ports to complement one another instead of competing with themselves.

    Bello said the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) launched by the Council was a guide to port users, adding that the government was determined to provide an enabling environment for the stakeholders to move the maritime industry forward.

    Former National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, (NAGAFF) president, Chief Eugene Nweke said the measure required carriers to send advance commercial information about their shipments to the Customs and NPA.

    The collection and risk assessment of pre-arrival data, Nweke said, would improve the government’s ability to detect high-risk shipments before they arrive at the ports. Also, freight forwarders and clearing agents, he said, would clear low-risk, legitimate trade from the ports more efficiently.

    No Customs officer attended the meeting. But a senior Customs officer, advocated that cargo-carrying vessels should provide information on the cargo manifest, such as its consignor, consignee, quantity of goods, origin, destination and value.

    On the difference between the   manifest and bill of lading, the Customs official said: “A cargo manifest and a bill of lading sometimes carry similar information and the concept  is not always clearly distinguished. In some cases, a single document may serve both purposes.

    “In general, a bill of lading serves as a legal instrument focusing on and documenting such issues as ownership, whereas a cargo manifest is often more concerned with physical aspects of the cargo, such as weight and size. When the cargo is being shipped by different shipping companies on the same vessel, there will usually be separate bills of lading for each company, but only a single consolidated cargo manifest. On the other hand, if the cargo contains dangerous goods, there may be a separate dangerous cargo manifest.

    “In the United States, the government requires importers to file certain data elements before cargo destined is laden on board a vessel at a foreign port. These pre-importation filing requirements are known as the Importer Security Filing (ISF) or “10+2.”

    “Although these requirements affect both importers and carriers, the ISF rule has become more import compliance focused. The ISF rule mandates that the following data elements must be filed at least 24 hours prior to the loading of the cargo on an ocean vessel bound for the United States: manufacturer /(supplier) name and address; seller’s name/address; buyer’s name/address; ship-to name/address; importer of record number; consignee number(s); country of origin of goods; commodity HTSUS number; container stuffing location; and consolidator/stuffer,” the official said.

    He added: “With this directive, shipping lines  are now required to electronically transmit advanced manifest of their cargoes to Customs and NPA as soon as the vessel departs the last port of call – this is to ensure there is enough time for risk assessment, profiling and optimised placement of cargo.

    “Customs will then circulate the cargo manifests to other examination agencies and the terminal operators as soon as same are received from the shipping companies. Any shipping company that fails to transmit the advanced cargo manifest may be denied berthing rights or sanctioned by the government.”

    Findings revealed that the  measure was adopted in order to  know the type of cargo and the risks involved before arrival, prepare for emergency, confirm stowage and plan storage for goods that need special treatment.

  • Kogi, unlawful importation and Customs

    THE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) recently confiscated some security items allegedly imported by Kogi State government and flown in through the Abuja International Airport. No end-user certificate accompanied the consignment, though the clearing agent insisted he had one in his possession. Having identified the importer through the clearing agent, the Service gave them a one-month ultimatum to produce the end-user certificate from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA). Should it take so long to produce a document they claimed was in their possession? Kogi State will naturally hope that by their fawning relationship with the presidency, that certificate would be procured within the time frame given them by the generous Customs. But whether the ultimatum and the claims of the agent explain and justify the importation of restricted security items without the requisite end-user certificate in the first instance is not clear. In addition, both the Customs and the NSA will have to convince themselves that by their lenient handling of this delicate matter, other importers with a predilection for skirting the boundaries and confines of the law would not take to deliberate and affronting racketeering.

    According to the Customs, the agent claimed to be in possession of the end-user certificate, and in addition alleged that the Kogi State government was the client/importer. The state has not officially reacted. The items unlawfully imported, according to reports, include military camouflage, camouflage jungle boots, plastic knives, black bullet proof vests, black boxing gloves, arctic hunter bags, training mats, black batons, black T-shirts, protective glasses, black sunglasses and black uniform belts. Against the background of fears that the state government might be trying to raise a squad of militant enforcers for the next elections, the importation of security items in flagrant contravention of importation rules may indicate the terrible dangers the state is being exposed to.

    The Kogi State government knows nothing about the law or democracy, and it cares nothing for the great values and virtues that underpin decent and civilised society. Its legislature has become a rubber stamp, the labour unions are overwhelmed, and civil society hardly exists. Both the ruling party and the federal government have turned a blind eye to the state government’s repeated infractions and constitutional illegalities, with the governor himself a product of brazen affront to the law and constitution. By yielding continually to the state’s chicaneries, the federal government, not to say the misdirected All Progressives Congress (APC), may unwittingly be laying the foundation for lawlessness and arbitrariness in Kogi.

    The Customs assert that investigations into the unlawful importation of the security items are progressing. (But another government agency, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), last May promised to prosecute Governor Yahaya Bello for double voter card registration only to turn round to perfect his registration and issue him a temporary voter card in February. In Nigeria, black is not always black). Meanwhile, the Customs declined to arrest the agent, and the importer is reportedly making strenuous efforts to procure the end-user certificate. No one knows what the bright minds in Abuja are capable of, or how cynically they regard and respond to the rule of law. But if both the Customs and the NSA validate Kogi’s alleged importation of security items, considering that the state has become reckless, lawless and anti-democratic, they must not look for other explanations if democracy and the Fourth Republic wobble very badly.

    The Customs may not be best placed to investigate why Kogi State allegedly needs those security items. But the NSA and the Department of State Service (DSS) should feel obligated to find out why those items were imported and for what purpose. They must take care to get to the bottom of the matter, for Kogi State officials are accomplished liars who treat truth and facts contemptuously. The situation in Kogi is dire, for its government is leading that state to collapse. Consider, for instance, its approach to the cattle grazing controversy, especially its forwardness and abominable lack of proaction. Now with the attacks on Dekina and Omala Local Government Areas of the state by herdsmen, during which some 25 people were said to have been killed and many villages sacked, the state is reaping the fruits of the governor’s brashness.

    It is not certain that the House of Representatives’ probe of the illegal importation of security items allegedly by Kogi will be accomplished with the urgency it demands, but all things considered, the state appears to be primed in the coming months for violence and sundry crises. The ruling party of course specialises in fomenting discord; just as it it has no talent in managing it. Meanwhile, the presidency has not shown the neutrality expected of it. On its own, the Customs have done well to bring the issue into the open, even though they have not taken far-reaching steps to handle the matter with the aplomb that is consistent with their powers. Hopefully, instead of waffling, the NSA will not only decline to issue the end-user certificate, he will, together with other security agencies, find out whether the law had not been flouted and by whom.

  • 4,000 bags of rice seized as Customs, smugglers clash

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Oyo/Osun Area Command, said yesterday it had seized over 4,000 bags of smuggled rice.

    It said the seizure was made on Opara/Bodo Musa axis of Iwajowa Local Government.

    The figure shows increase in the number of smuggled rice.

    Other items confiscated by the Customs included nine trucks, 150 used imported tyres, 51 bales of second- hand clothes, 50 gallons of vegetable oil and two used cars.

    The seizure was, however, not without resistance from the armed smugglers, who engaged the officers in a gun duel for about four hours in the forest.

    At the end, the officers overpowered the smugglers, who escaped, leaving their goods.

    One person was, however, arrested in connection with smuggling of prohibited goods.

    The Area Controller, Mr. Christopher Ogar Odibu, who addressed reporters yesterday in Ibadan, said the Duty Paid Value of the seized goods was N92.8 million.

     

  • Customs special operatives intercept N150m smuggled goods

    Operatives of the newly reconstituted Comptroller General of Customs’ Task force have intercepted smuggled goods worth N150 million.

    The seizure was recorded barely 30 days after the task force was inaugurated.

    The team is made up of 80 operatives in Lagos zone, and sometimes takes part in cargo examination at the seaports and border stations.

    No fewer than 20 seizures of various items ranging from trailer-loads of imported rice, vegetable oil, second-hand clothing as well as frozen poultry products and means of conveyance had been intercepted in the last two weeks.

    One of the seized trailers loaded with cement was also used to conceal several bags of imported rice.

    Owners of other containerized goods with duty paid value could not present proof of import duty payment, necessitating their seizure.

    The Comptroller General’s special team which replaced the defunct CG’s compliance team, now uses digital technology to track smuggled goods through its Information Communication Technology (ICT) unit.

    The ICT centre located on Warehouse road, Apapa can easily monitor the movement of cargoes right from its port of departure to the final destination, knowing the classification of the goods whether they are hazardous, the quantity and the possible import duty payable.

    It was learnt that operatives of the task force were charged to conduct themselves with civility and undertake painstaking investigation while discharging their duty.

    With the Inauguration of the task force, several debit note have been recommended to its ICT centre which assesses it for recovery of revenue heading for a loss. To date, several millions of naira has been recovered through this method.

    It will be recalled that on February 2, 2018, the Comptroller General of the Customs Service, Hammed Ali approved the dissolution of the former Compliance team and inaugurated a new unit named ‘Strike force’ to intensify the crackdown on smugglers across the country.

    Headed by Deputy Comptroller, Abubakar Usman Argungu as National Co-ordinator, with four Assistant Comptrollers to oversee its operations at four zones, they are Salisu A. for Lagos, Dahiru Kirawa for zone ‘C’ in Owerri, Ekanem for zone ‘B’ in Kaduna and A. Kakudi for zone ‘D’ in Bauchi.

    According to the spokesperson of the Nigeria Customs Service, Deputy Comptroller Joseph Attah, “It is(the team) empowered to enter into any command facility once there is suspicion of fraud with a view to blocking revenue leakages”.

    “The operation of the task force is in line with the demands of ease of doing business and to promote transparency and accountability in the Service.

    ”Operatives of the task force are headquartered at the various Customs training colleges to “avoid unnecessary hindrances to trade on the highways.”

  • Customs seizes vehicles, goods worth over N1b

    Customs seizes vehicles, goods worth over N1b

    Officers of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A, Ikeja,  Lagos, have seized different types of expensive vehicles and contraband goods worth over one billion naira in Lagos.

    Arrested in connection with the seized items were 17 suspected smugglers.  Customs, it was learnt, accosted some of the smugglers along Ijebu-Ode Expressway. Among the suspects is a Chinese National Mr. KO Sing Ying.

    Addressing reporters in Lagos, the Area Controller Mohammed Uba, said 18 assorted vehicles and 4,201 50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice were parts of the items seized from the smugglers.

    The vehicles, according to the controller, include one Escalade, one Rolls Royce, one Chrysler, one Audi Q7, one Land Rover HSE, one Toyota Venza, one Ford Taurus, one Honda Cross Tour, four Mercedes Benz and three Kia Rio, among others.

    The vehicles range from 2008 to 2015 model.

    Uba said his men seized about seven trailer loads of bags of smuggled parboiled rice, with a duty paid value (DPV) of over N51million.

    Other seized items  include 2619 cartons of frozen poultry products, 1,105 jerry cans of vegetable oil, 2,637 pieces of used tyres, 1,333 bales of used clothing, 2,001 kg of Pangolin and 343 kg of Elephant Turks  among others.

    It was gathered that the value of the Pangolin shells is over N408million, while the Elephant Turks valued over N85million and the two items have been handed over to the officials of the Nigeria Environment Standards and Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA).

    Findings revealed that the Warehouse Operation Team led by Assistant Comptroller Mutalib Sule raided an apartment at No 38, Ogundana Street, off Allen Avenue, busted the house where the suspected smugglers kept the Pangolin shells and the Elephant Turks.

    It was also, gathered that some of the dealers in Lekki used the Lagos sea port stickers and used 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 for days before swooping on them.

    Uba vowed that the unit is determined to make all the smugglers in their area of jurisdiction bankrupt if they continue with their illicit business.

    The value of the contraband seized by the unit in the month of February, according to him, is N1,035,232,046.13.

  • One dead in Customs/community clash

    One dead in Customs/community clash

    One person died at yesterday’s clash between men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and residents of Babura in Jigawa State.

    Reports said the deceased, Umaru Babban Mutum (60), argued with officials about a car he allegedly imported from Niger Republic.

    The car was impounded at the entry point.

    An eyewitness said one of the officers shot the driver in the leg. An infuriated Umaru challenged them, but he was also shot in the stomach.

    He died instantly.

    Immediately news of Umaru’s death filtered into the community, about 500 angry residents burnt the five checkpoints operated by Customs. Four cars belonging to the officers were burnt.

    According to the Chairman of Babura Local Government Area, Mohammed Ibrahim Zaki, residents went to the police station, threatening to burn the place, until the DPO convinced them that the officials are not in their custody.

    The deceased has been buried according to Islamic rites.

    Comptroller of the Jigawa/Kano Area Command could not be reached for comments.

    Police spokesman Mrs. Isah Danbaba confirmed the incident, saying: “We are investigating the matter”.