The Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service said yesterday that it intercepted 2,131 bags of rice loaded in 12 trucks with a duty paid value of N23.9million.
Area Controller of the command, Victor Dimka told newsmen in Seme that the seizures which were made at Ere creeks, a border town between Lagos and Ogun was the highest made in a single operation in the history of the command.
He said the smuggled rice were stocked in an uncompleted building when his men got the information and stormed the Ere creek.
Dimka attributed the seizure to the sharing of coordinated and credible information among officers of the command and the support of the Comptroller General of Customs who he said has declared zero tolerance for smuggling.
“It was discovered through the database of the command that the remarkable feat of this magnitude is the first of its kind in recent times that will go down memory lane as a record that will not be easily forgotten,” he said.
He said the resolve by the smugglers to use the waterways was because the Seme border road is well fortified against smuggling activities by his officers and men.
Dimka commended the enforcement unit of the command for their unprecedented performance even as he asked them to intensify efforts in the suppression of smuggling activities along the border.
He said investigation was ongoing to unmask the rice smugglers.
He warned that the command will continue to work round the clock to degrade all smuggling activities across the frontier as it has all the necessary logistics and support to combat smuggling activities at the border.
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