The Federal Operation Unit (FOU) Zone ‘C’ of Nigeria Customs Service in Owerri on Wednesday said it confiscated contraband with Duty Paid Value of N101.693 million in a week operations in August.
It said the items comprised six state-of-the-art cars, 575 bags of 50kg foreign rice, 323 pieces of used tyres and a container load of EVA soaps concealed with motor spare parts.
The Area Controller in the Zone, Comptroller Bukar Amajam, made this known while displaying the seized items to newsmen at the NCS Benin City office.
He said the goods were impounded along the Benin Mobile/Onitsha Head Bridge patrol axis of the Customs through information from patriotic Nigerians.
Amajam said the confiscated exotic cars were a Bently GT Coupe 2014 model with DPV of over N56 million, a Mercedez Benz GLk model 2011 with DPV of N9. 23 million and another Mercedez Benz GLK 2008 model valued at N7.715 million.
He said a Toyota Hiace bus loaded with 56 bags of rice was also confiscated, both having DPV of N3.23 million.
The command also impounded a bus with 323 pieces of used tyres, a Toyota Preva loaded with 59 bags of rice, all worth N4.420 million and N2.711 million, respectively.
Also confiscated is a Sino Truck loaded with 460 bags of rice. Both truck and rice have DPV of N18.376 million.
The customs area controller said that two suspects involved in a smuggling business were already in prison custody and would be facing trial soon.
He expressed regret that some people were still engrossed in the business in spite of successful efforts of the customs service to nip their activities in the bud.
Amajam warned Nigerians still involved in the illegal business of smuggling of unauthorized items into the country to desist forthwith in their own interest.
According to him, the efforts of the customs are geared toward promoting local industries and to beef up revenue generation for the Federal Government.
“Although there has been a drastic reduction in smuggling of banned items into the country, the NCS would not relent on its oars until the war against the scourge is won,” he said.
He said the Eva soaps were confiscated because of trade prohibition as the items were “too much to be allowed to enter the country for commercial purposes” since the country had locally made Eva soaps.
Amajam appealed to members of the public with useful information about smugglers, their agents and collaborators to always make them available to the Nigeria Customs Service for necessary action.
He assured that such information would be treated with the utmost confidentiality it deserved.