Between January and June 2023, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun 1 Area Command, reported intercepting 37 trailer-loads of imported parboiled rice in various places.
The command added that seven suspected smugglers were also detained during the review period and that 173,975 liters of gasoline, or five tankers, had been seized.
This information was provided to the media on Tuesday at the command’s headquarters in Idiroko, Ipokia Local Government Area, Ogun State, during a press conference by the area controller, Bamidele Makinde.
The Controller claims that Makinde revealed that command personnel also stopped five reportedly smuggled exotic luxury buses that were crossing the Ohumbe land border into Nigeria.
Makinde argued that the command’s revenue from import duties, gasoline auction sales, and scrap car sales totaled N93.301 million. He claimed that this represented an increase of 311% over the command’s revenue of N29.940 million during the same period in 2021.
392 seizures totaling N1,313,628,488 in Duty Payable Value (DPV) were made, according to Makinde.
Among the items seized, he claimed, were 5,048 used tires, 390 bales of used clothing, 61 vehicles, including 5 luxury buses, 173,975 liters of gasoline, 107 bags and 1,595 wraps of cannabis sativa, 194 cartons of codeine syrup, and 22,526 bags of foreign parboiled rice weighing 50 kg each (the equivalent of 37 trailer loads).
“We continue to be steadfast in our fight against the smuggling of rice and other restricted goods in order to support local production in keeping with the local production policy of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
According to him, “the command was able to achieve the amazing result due to its ongoing stakeholder involvement, deployment of intelligence in the operation, increased discipline, and entire dedication to duty by the officers.
