The Seme Area command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it has impounded a fairly used military truck imported through the Seme border.
A statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Taupyen Selechang, a copy of which was sent to SHIPS & PORTS DAILY said the truck with the inscription ‘Use for Transporting Troops’ was smuggled into Nigeria under false declaration and intercepted by the command’s operational officers.
“Investigation is still ongoing to unravel the importer of the consignment that had the potential of undermining the security of the nation.
“One of the core mandates of the federal government was to secure the nation from any threat to peace, which the Nigeria Customs Service was ready to enforce as security agent at the international border,” he said.
The statement quoted the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Garba Ndalati as saying that the arrest did not come to him as a surprise as according to him, all hands were on deck at the command to work strictly in compliance with the policy thrust of the Comptroller General of Customs.
According to Selechang, officers have been warned to adhere strictly to guidelines and ethics.
Meanwhile, the command said it collected a total of N883.7 million revenue in September.
Selechang said the command also made 12 seizures with a duty paid value of N3.094 million within the period under review.
He said the command has consistently performed above average despite many hiccups that make the revenue target for the year seemingly unattainable.
He said that suspects arrested during various anti-smuggling operations are at different stages of investigations and prosecutions.
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