The Muritala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) command of the Nigeria Customs Service said it has intercepted N68.9 million frozen products smuggled through the airport.
This was disclosed at a joint press conference between the Customs Area Controllers of the MMIA command and Muritala Muhammed Area Command (cargo section), headed by Comptroller Wale Adeniyi and Comptroller Lena Oyama.
It was gathered that 40 cartons were intercepted on the Southern African Airways flight and 104 cartons were abandoned on the tarmac of the terminal.
Speaking to journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, Controller of MMIA, Comptroller Adeniyi, said the seizure was as a result of the border closure because it was first of its kind in the history of the airport commands.
He said, “On the night of 10th November, following the discharge of cargo from a South African Airways flight 5A060 from Johannesburg, our Tarmac operatives intercepted a consignment which were indicated as perishables, and are therefore qualified for pre-release at the cargo wing.
“The officers requested to sight the items before transferring them. Though the airway bill described the goods as fresh vegetables, the contents were later discovered to be assorted frozen products. In all, there were 40 cartons, including beef, pork and fish fillets. It became obvious that the importers through his agents have prepared a pre-release documentation purporting the imports to be fresh vegetables with the sole intention to evade the import prohibition order.
“At about 0005 hours, the following morning another consignment of 104 cartons comprising pork meat, beef and turkey was seen abandoned inside 4 dollies close to Gate 13. The total Duty Paid Value of the 2 seizures is N68.9 million.
“The tarmac seizure is coming on the heel of other seizures recently made at the Cargo wing. This clearly points to a possible shift of strategy by smugglers with the border drill making it a nightmare for smuggling operation at the borders. Intelligence has suggested that our airports are now being considered as options.”
The Customs boss who said though the MMIA and the cargo section commands are distinct administratively, they have a good working relationship to stop smuggling.
“Though, the commands are distinct administratively, we are still connected in our operations, since the tarmac in the international wing services the cargo operation in the other command. It is therefore imperative for us to create a close working environment to ensure that criminals do not exploit divisions to perpetrate their business. I am glad to inform you that the close working relationship nurtured a smooth take off of the new command.
“To ensure effective coverage of the tarmac, we conduct joint surveillance of the tarmac area, an action that resulted into the seizures for which we are briefing you, “he said.
Also speaking, Controller of the Cargo section, Comptroller Oyama, said her command had intercepted 23 bags of stun guns, military uniforms, 25 packages of drones, walkie talkie, police jackets and mini cameras.
She also disclosed that the revenue of the command increased by 100.6 percent of the expected revenue target.
She said “For the month of August 2019, the MMA command generated a total sum of N4.3billion. This figure represents 100.6 percent of the expected revenue target for the month of August 2019.
“For the month of September 2019, the MMA Command generated a total sum of N4.9billion. This figure represents 115.6 percent of the expected revenue target for the month of September 2019, exceeding the monthly target by N674 million.”