Few weeks after it seized 906 cartons of fake drugs, the Nigeria Customs Service Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘C’, Owerri, has again intercepted 625 cartons of fake and unregistered drugs brought illegally into the area by smugglers.
The Command also arrested 42 suspects in connection with the items.
Area Controller of the Unit, Comptroller Haruna Mammudu, disclosed this, stressing that the recent trend on interception of fake drugs and numerous prohibited goods were made possible through the collaboration of his unit with other government security agencies operating in the hinterland.
“The offensive items were concealed in different vehicles with other general goods by smugglers in a bid to escape security checks, but the operational efficiency of our men paid off, as they were all arrested.
“Our officers are strategically positioned in specific areas of the Unit to ensure that contra-band items coming from the border stations do not have access to the local markets in the Unit. We are at a alert every moment. For instance, the number of cases we have in court now have rapidly increased from 18 to 25, and we will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute smugglers,” he said.
In a separate development, the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘A’ based in Ikeja, Lagos said it recorded 494 different seizures of prohibited goods with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N888million between January and June 2016.
Controller of the Unit, Umar Mohammed said in a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer, Uche Ejesieme, a copy of which was sent to SHIPS & PORTS DAILY at the weekend that the Unit also recovered N312million through various interventions during the review period.
Mohammed noted that while a total of 1,030 different seizures with a Duty Paid Value of N758million were recorded in the corresponding period of 2015, the quality of seizures under the review period accounted for the improved Duty Paid Value.
Giving a breakdown of the seizures, the Controller said they comprised 22,763 bags of 50kg parboiled rice with a DPV of N148million and 29,684 cartons of frozen poultry products worth N160million.
Others include 50 vehicles comprising 38 units of assorted vehicles, 12 cut buses with a DPV of N91million and assorted general merchandise including new and used textile materials, new and used shoes, vegetable oil, insecticide, wine, various types of spaghetti and noodles, soaps and detergents worth N459million.
He said the unit also apprehended 126 suspects in connection with the seizures within the review period.
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