The Nigeria Customs Service says it has uncovered new methods used by smugglers to move rice into the country through the border town of Mubi in Adamawa State.
The Adamawa/Taraba Customs Area Controller, Adetoye Francis, said this while inspecting a heavy goods vehicle and two tricycles loaded with suspected smuggled rice in Mubi town on Wednesday.
Francis said smugglers now use tipper lorries carrying sand, with bags of rice spread underneath the sand in an attempt to deceive custom officials.
“They (smugglers) hide under the cover of ongoing construction works going on in Mubi by using tippers meant for conveying sand for smuggling. They cover the items with sand.
“The lorry you are seeing here was arrested along the Mubi-Sahuda border road with 52 bags of rice covered with sand,” Francis said.
He commended the officers and men of the Mubi office of the command for their commitment to preventing smuggling at the border town and assured them of his support at all times.
Earlier, the Officer-in-Charge of Mubi Unit, Aliyu Bunza, who narrated the success recorded by the unit in checking the activities of smugglers around the border town, lauded the support and cooperation the command is receiving from other security operatives in the area.
Also speaking, some representatives of Mubi business community, Sanusi Hassan and Malam Sali Manaja, declared support of their members for Customs.
They promised to continue to educate their members about the effects of smuggling on national economy.
