The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Federal Operation Unit (FOU) Zone `C’ based in Owerri, Imo State has said it has seized over 10,000 units of 50kg bags of smuggled rice, hundreds of second-hand tyres, eight sacks of substance suspected to be Indian-hemp, cartons of tramadol with some quantities of rahyphnol.
The Controller of the zone, Bukar Alhaji Amajam made this known to newsmen on Wednesday in Enugu, when he visited the Enugu Command and inspected the vehicles and warehouse in the premises of the command where the contraband are kept.
Amajam said some of the bags of rice were first covered with several layers of bags of sawdust to give the impression that the trucks were conveying bags of sawdust and fish feeds.
He added that seven trucks, four trailers, two luxurious buses and one J-5 Boxer bus were used by the smugglers to convey the goods when they were intercepted.
The Zone C FOU boss said six people were arrested alongside some of the goods and have been so far handed to the legal department of Customs in Owerri for prosecution.
He noted that the warehouse alone has about 5,522 bags of 50kg imported rice while about 4,686 were contained in the various trucks now under the custody of the command.
According to him, the vehicles conveying the contraband products were intercepted around Obollor-Affor and 9th Mile Corner in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State as they were travelling to the northern parts of the country.
Amajam said that the cannabis would be handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) while the Rahyphnol and Tramadol would be submitted to the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for proper analyses.
