Customs impounds vehicles, rice, others valued at N10bn

The Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has impounded vehicles, imported rice and other items with Duty Paid Value, DPV of N10 billion.

Acting Customs Area Controller, CAC of the Unit, Usman Yahaya, said the seizure were made at Ido-Eruwa road in one day. Yahaya, in a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the unit, Peter Duniya, noted that the contraband comprised 34 fairly used and new vehicles which were laden with second hand clothes, Indian hemp and foreign parboiled rice.

He said: "I welcome you to this historic press briefing which is aimed at showcasing a large scale of smuggled vehicles laden with different kinds of contraband goods.

Some economic saboteurs met their waterloo when our operatives acted based on credible information, made a single seizure at Ido, Eruwa Road-Ibadan of Oyo State. The contraband includes 34 different brands of both new and used vehicles laden with banned items such as second hand clothes, foreign parboiled rice and Indian hemp.”

Yahaya further disclosed that though there were stiff resistance from the smugglers who engaged the support of hoodlums but the Customs operatives displayed high level of professionalism and restraint to secure the contraband to the Customs warehouse in Lagos.

“Our operatives were met with stiff resistance from a combination of smugglers, hoodlums and villagers. However, with the application of high level of professionalism, the patrol teams were able to bring all the vehicles down to Lagos without any casualty.”

He, however, warned smugglers to desist from engaging in economic activities that sabotaged the government policies of making Nigeria self sufficient in food production.

“While we appreciate the support and the cooperation of patriotic members of the public in carrying out our mandate by providing timely and useful information, however, recalcitrant economic saboteurs should note that, they would continue to count their losses because we are better mobilised, organised and backed by the extant laws to be always ahead of them,” he concluded.