Operatives of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone A of Nigeria Customs Service have intercepted two tankers laden with poorly refined 80,055 litres of Automotive Gas Oil popularly known as diesel, in Ijebu Ode area of Ogun State.
Acting Controller of the Unit, Hussein Ejibunu, who handed over the petroleum product to officials of Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA), said the drivers of the trucks escaped upon sighting Customs officers on patrol.
He said after study of the documents being used to convey the product and analyses of samples of the product, it was discovered that the papers were forged and the diesel were of poor standard.
He said Customs then wrote to the NMDPRA to verify the status of the products and authenticity of documents found in the vehicles which were both confirmed to be fake.
Ejibunu said one of the tankers with registration number DBT 599 XA was laden with 44,450 litres while the other one with registration number USL 561 ZC had 35,605 litres of the product.
Patrick Musa, an official of the NMDPRA, while receiving the seized diesel, explained that the product was found to be off specification and fell below approved standards for use in Nigeria.
He added that the product could not have been lifted from any approved depots within the country.
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