Customs impounds 56,750 live bullets in Oyo
… Police 3,500
The Oyo-Osun Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted and impounded 56, 750 live rounds of bullets from suspected smugglers in Oyo State.
The Customs Area Controller (CAC), Mr. Richard Oteri, told journalists in Ibadan that the command allegedly impounded 227 cartons of live ammunition containing 56,750 rounds of bullets.
The suspected smugglers, according to Oteri, allegedly concealed the ammunition under some bags of dry cassava.
The command also recorded a number of other seizures in the first quarter of this year, including 2,716 bags of rice, which were allegedly concealed with charcoal, and had duty paid value (DPV) of N30,745,120; 28 fairly used cars, commonly known as tokunbo; 2,500 cartons of frozen poultry products; and a lorry loaded with 700 cartons of imported shoes.
Other seized items were a bus-load of textile materials, and a trailer-load of 521 used tyres allegedly concealed under 600 bags of animal feeds.
The CAC explained that the suspected smugglers had escaped arrest.
Oteri explained that the revenue generated by the command had increased by 17 per cent within the review period.
He said: “The Duty Paid Value of the items is N2,263,966.50. The seizure of the moment is the 227 cartons of 56,750 rounds of ammunition.
“The vehicle conveying the ammunition was arrested along the Igboho Road, Saki axis. It was concealed in bags packed with dried cassava.
“In the first quarter of this year, a total of N4,553,199,055 was generated as against N3,893,480,664 generated in first quarter of 2012. The difference is N659,726,393.”
In a related develiopment, the Oyo State Police command has said that its operatives intercepted and seized 3,500 live cartridges allegedly being smuggled into the country through Saki in Oke Ogun area of the state.
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