The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Intercepts

  • Customs intercepts 1,398 rolls of military uniforms at Lagos port

    Customs intercepts 1,398 rolls of military uniforms at Lagos port

    THE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) yesterday intercepted 1,398 rolls of plain military uniforms and camouflage at the Lagos port.

    The items were intercepted at the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal (KLT), Port Express, Apapa, by its Area Comptroller, Mrs. Lami S. A. Wushishi.

    Mrs. Wushishi,  while briefing reporters, said the items were illegally shipped into the country on July 14 from China.

    Two suspects, she added, were arrested in connection with the prohibited items.

    Security sources told The Nation that there are about 50 yards in a roll of the plain military uniform and that the 1,398 rolls in the container can be used  by over 13,000 persons.

    Mrs. Wushishi said the items were concealed in a 40ft container with registration number ECMU 9239436 and were allegedly imported by Musbarth  Integrated Logistics Ltd of 163, Sky Memorial Complex, Zoo Road, Kano.

    The Area Comptroller said the plain military uniforms, which were mixed up with other items, were discovered during routine examinations and checks.

    She said:  “It is the practice that when we have military wares, they are normally imported by military officers and they will write a letter to our headquarters to that effect. When the goods come, they are always on ground to receive them without paying duty.

    “But in this particular, the items were declared as 200 packages of Thread Take Up Can and 150 packages of  polyester material.

    “It was during the examination that we discovered that the items inside the container were 732 rolls of plain Army uniform, 666 rolls of plain military camouflage, 129 roles of polyester and five bags of polyester.

    “When you look at the list, one tends to suspect foul play. Moreso, the person that brought the prohibited items only used the 129 rolls of polyester as decoy to deceive our men, hence the need to do a thorough check on the consignment.”

    Considering the security challenge in the country, the Customs chief said the plain military uniform and the camouflage  could be used to wreak havoc in any part of the country. She noted that terrorists and other criminals now dress like solders.

    “Although, we invited you here to witness the handing over of the seized items and the two suspects to the Department of the State Security (DSS), but we always tell them that they should not come to our ports because we have our officers and men on ground to deal with the unusual situation.”We have issued series of warning that any illegal trader should not come here  because we have the entire wherewithal and intelligence readily available to discover this type of things.”

    Mrs. Wushishi said the Comptroller-General, Col Hameed Ali (rtd) has warned them to be extra-vigilant at the ports because of the activities of the criminals.

    The items and the suspects were handed to DSS operatives at the event.

    DSS Intelligent Officer  Iliya James Dickson represented the department.

  • Customs intercepts 853 bags of rice, 400 gallons of vegetable oil

    The Oyo/Osun Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has seized 1,400 bags of imported rice and about 400 gallons of vegetable oil smuggled into the country through Iseyin/Oyo Road axis of the Nigeria/Benin Republic border.

    A truck and two Mazda buses loaded with smuggled rice, intercepted by the Customs, were paraded.

    The Command Area Controller (CAC), Udo-Aka Emmanuel, who supervised the counting of the smuggled items, said 853 bags of 50kg rice and 395 kegs of 25 litres vegetable oil, valued at millions of naira, were seized.

  • Customs intercepts 2,000 bags of rice from smugglers

    The Western Marine Command of the Customs in  Lagos, has intercepted over 2,000 bags of rice and a boat from suspected  smugglers at Bawe Creek in Badagry.

    Some expired items including rice, drugs, second hand clothes and milk were also destroyed by the command.

    The operation was carried out on June 12, by a joint patrol team of the command.

    The seizures, according to the Customs Area Controller, Mr Umar Yusuf, also included 650 kegs of petrol; poultry products; fairly used clothes; assorted wines and vegetable oil among others.

    Three customs officers were injured by the smugglers during the operation.

    Yusuf vowed  that the command would track down the smugglers who injured his men.

    Yusuf told reporters that the hospitalized customs operatives were  stabbed on the head, hand and legs. “ Unfortunately for the smugglers, our men were recently trained on the use of AK 47 rifles which they used to fight back and this led to the smugglers fleeing and leaving their weapons behind,” he said.

    “In all, a big boat laden with over 2000 bags of parboiled rice; one long locally- made gun; a short gun; four knives and one machete was seized from the smugglers. No suspect was apprehended as the smugglers jumped into the river with gunshot wounds. We are ensuring that we track down the smugglers wherever they are and we will do so squarely because we are equal to the task.”

  • Customs intercepts fairly used tyres

    Customs intercepts fairly used tyres

    The Nigeria Customs Headquarters Monitoring Team, Idiroko axis, has intercepted large quantity of prohibited goods along the Lagos/Shagamu Expressway.

    This declaration was made by the Comptroller, Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, Comptroller Turaki Usman Adamu, during one of his media chats recently.

    He disclosed that the headquarters monitoring team headed by AC Yahaya Usman Biri, in company of other officers and men, while acting on a tip off recently intercepted a Mandiesel truck with registration no AGB 106 ZD along the Lagos/Shagamu Expressway.

    In line with the practice of ensuring 100% physical examination on such suspected vehicles, the truck was taken to the headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit, Ikeja where examination was conducted and the following items were uncovered: 626 pieces of used tyres, 152 cartons of ceramic tiles and 11 pieces of plastic bowls.

    Other items recovered were 266 pieces of flower ports and 86 bundles of plastic containers, to mention just a few.

    From the physical examination, it became evident that all those other items were used to carefully conceal 626 fairly used tyres. The comptroller stated the goods are in clear contravention of sections 46 and 47 of the Customs & Excise Management act Cap C45 LFN 2004 as amended.

  • NSCDC intercepts vessel, crude oil

    NSCDC intercepts vessel, crude oil

    •One suspect arrested 

    A vessel loaded with bagged petroleum products has been intercepted by the Bayelsa command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

    A suspect, Munemene Ziba, was arrested in connection with the vessel, which was laden with sacks of oil described within the creeks as “a condom system” of transporting crude oil.

    The state Commandant, Desmond Agu, said the suspect claimed to be a member of the anti-vandalism task force on oil theft in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

    Agu spoke at the weekend shortly after receiving the Commissioner of Police, Valentine Ntomchukwu and Air Officer Commanding, Mobility Command, Air Vice-Marshal Umar Omeiza.

    “He claimed to be a member of the task force that was set up by the government while he is not a member.

    “I am prosecuting him as an impersonator and for illegal possession of the product. He was caught at the Yenagoa waterside while coming from South Ijaw,” Agu said.

    The commandant said 638 illegal refineries were destroyed in Southern Ijaw by the task force, which was established in partnership with NSCDC.

    He warned persons wearing uniforms of security agencies to desist from such act and called on the police and other security agencies to protect their uniforms.

    Agu said the suspect was caught wearing a vest with an inscription, “SILGA Task Force”.

    He, however, said the suspect confessed that he stole the vest during the rally organised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at Southern Ijaw.

    But the suspect claimed that he was arrested at the waterside, adding that he knew nothing about the bagged product.

    “I was caught at the Yenagoa waterside. I was not even inside the boat. I was not driving the boat,” he said.

     

  • JTF intercepts cache of arms, explosives

    Security operatives yesterday in Kano impounded a large consignment of arms and ammunition in three raids carried out by the Joint Task Force (JTF).

    Three suspected bomb factories in Sharada, Gaida Ajawa on the Eastern Bye-pass and Mariri were discovered by the JTF.

    Spokesman for the task force, Captain Ikedichi Iweha, in a statement yesterday said the three buildings that served as bomb factories for the terrorists had been demolished and eight suspected terrorists were in the custody of the military.

    Weapons intercepted during the raid, according to Captain Iweha, included six AK 47 rifles, General Purpose machine guns, SMG magazine, PPK pistol, two smoke guns and 189 rounds of AK 47 ammunition.

    Other items were 43 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition, eight rounds of 9mm for PKK pistols, 15 hand-held Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), containers of liquid chemical substance and 11 bags of nitrate fertilisers. Connecting wires and other materials for making IEDs were also impounded.

    JTF said among the eight suspected terrorists was the sect’s bomb-making specialist, who it said was arrested at the Farm Centre.

    JTF’s statement reads: “Following the series of cordon-and-search operations being carried out by JTF in Kano, it wishes to inform the public that in the early hours of this morning, March 28, a combined team of operatives stormed a building at Geida Ajawa on Kano-Western Bye-pass being used as an armoury by terrorists and assorted dangerous weapons were uncovered.

    “You may have observed that there has been a rise in recent times in the activities of terrorists in the state. This may not be unconnected with the influx of terrorists fleeing from Maiduguri, Damaturu and Potiskum as a result of pressure being mounted on them by JTF operatives in these areas.”

    Captain Iweha said more worrisome is the fact that the terrorists secure accommodation easily in Panshikara, Mariri, Farawa, Hotoro, Sharada and other parts of the city, despite appeals by the JTF to property owners to desist from renting out their houses to terrorists.

    He said JTF would not allow Kano to be used as a haven for terrorists and restated the resolve of the task force to pull down any property found to accommodate terrorists, in addition to arresting the owners of such property, who would be treated as accomplices.

    He assured the public that security had been strengthened, while the war against terrorism had been intensified to usher in a violent-free Easter celebration.

    On Wednesday, the police intercepted a bomb-laden vehicle suspected to have been primed for a suicide mission.

     

  • EFCC intercepts N14b in eight months

    EFCC intercepts N14b in eight months

    Between January and August this year, corruption took a new dimension in Nigeria as money laundered by cash hit N14billion.

    The Chairman of the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamourde, who made the disclosure on Monday, said during the period under review, an individual was caught laundering $7million out of the country with a briefcase.

    He attributed the development to outright greed.

    He spoke at the International Anti-Corruption Day celebration organized by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in partnership with other anti-corruption agencies in Abuja.

    Continuing, he pointed out that the commission has charged 40 persons to court for complicity in N42 billion Petroleum Subsidy frauds.

    The chairman noted that while the commission has 353 cases from which five persons have been arraigned in courts, it has also convicted 52 persons as other cases are at different stages of prosecution.

    Lamourde, however, said the delay in dispensation of justice may not be solely the fault of the judiciary but also due to the procedures for the administration of justice in the country.

    While calling for the establishment of special courts for trial of corruption related cases, he noted that the commission has seen the need to check its own personnel.