Nigeria Customs faces off with suspected smugglers @ Seme
… Steps up surveillance
The Seme Border Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reiterated that it will continue to step up its anti-smuggling drive around the border post.
This is coming on the heels of the recent face-off between some suspected smugglers and NCS operatives at Gbaji.
Last month, some youths in the locality allegedly had attacked some Customs personnel, in protest of the death of one of theirs.
Customs Public Relations Officer of the Command, Deputy Superintendent Ernest Olottah, said that the command has since intensified surveillance around the border post in ensuring that any person or persons attempting to evade duty payment or bring in contraband products are prevented.
“We have long before now intensified our anti-smuggling activities and we will continue to do that, because it is paying off. Now, it is hard for anybody to evade duty payment, because everywhere is blocked by our vigilant officers.We are doing everything within our power to suppress smuggling to the barest minimum,” Olottah stated.
Giving insight into what led to the incident, he explained that some suspected smugglers, including the deceased, were allegedly coming from across the border carrying poultry products, and, on sighting Cstoms officers at the Gbaji checkpoint, drove into the bush.
He added that it was in the course of the chase by the officers that the deceased allegedly fell from the vehicle that eventually led to his death.
“Some people tried to escape with some contraband products, they ran into the bush on sighting the officers and one of them fell down from the vehicle. He was taken to the hospital by his friend, but he died later,” he said.
The goods and the vehicle used in tranporting the products, according to Olottah, are under the Coms custody.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.