The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Niger/Kogi/Kwara Command has intercepted and seized a truck belonging to the Dangote Group loaded with 700 bags of smuggled rice worth N11.9million.
The command said in a statement on Thursday that one of its teams on patrol around Minna-Lambata-Suleja axis of Niger State, seized the truck with registration number XA297NAK, transporting the bags of rice.
Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Lomba, said in the statement that the command had a few months ago made a similar seizure of a Dangote truck with registration number DAL769XA DSR-1B-019 conveying 520 bags of 50kg rice worth N8.84million concealed with 50 bags of sugar worth N697,000 along the Mokwa area of Niger State.
Lomba, while insisting that the command would continue to wage war against smuggling of prohibited items, appealed to Nigerians to embrace legitimate means of livelihood and to avoid smuggling in all its ramifications.
He said, “Despite the campaign against rice smuggling into the country, the anti-smuggling command patrol team around Minna-Lambata-Suleja axis of the command yet seized another Dangote truck with registration number XA297NAK transporting 700 bags of rice worth N11,900,000.”