The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) on Wednesday said it had commenced a manhunt of those alleged to have smuggled about 11 vehicles – ten Hilux and one Land cruiser jeep into the country. This is even as it described reports in a section of the mass media that the vehicles were seized in the house of a serving Senator.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Joseph Attah yesterday, NCS said such report was capable of “misleading the public.”
The statement said the 11 seized cars were from a house that had no occupants.
“The attention of Nigeria Customs Service has been drawn to a mischievous publication in some prints and online platforms that the Service has seized vehicles belonging to a Senator in Kano.
“Since this is capable of misleading the public into wrong insinuations, it is imperative to state the facts.
“That the operatives of NCS Compliance Team, based on credible intelligence, trailed the movement of some smuggled vehicles from Maigatari, Jigawa State to a house at Magaji Rumfa, GRA Kano.
“On the 7th February, 2017, 11 vehicles, 10 Hilux and one Land cruiser jeep were retrieved from the house at Magaji Rumfa GRA, Kano and taken for detention at the headquarters of Customs Area Command, Kano.
“That the officers discovered that there were no occupants in the house, hence the gate was forced opened to retrieve the smuggled vehicles.
Attah said investigation into the seized vehicles is still on to establish the true owner.
“From the above, it is clear that whoever introduced the ‘senator’ angle to the story is out for pure mischief and does not represent the position of the Service on the issue.
“Accordingly, the false and misleading report should be discountenance,” the statement added.
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