The Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has explained why it released Adams Oghenetega who was caught with 200 bags of foreign rice concealed with Maggi seasoning and others along Badagry-Atan road.
Oghenetega who is a driver with GPS Haulage Company has also been sacked by his employers who claimed ignorance of the bags of rice being transported by the driver.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Unit, Jerry Attah, the suspects were released on administrative bail while investigations are still ongoing.
He said some of the suspects arrested were driver assistants popularly called motor boys who only took instructions from their drivers but were arrested because their drivers ran away when they sighted customs operatives.
Attah added that the suspects exhibited enough signs of ignorance.
In the case of Oghenetega, he said the suspect claimed he was only stopped along the road by owners of the rice to help them transport the goods but did not know their office.
He stated further that Oghenetega has been mandated to report to the command at given intervals, a directive which he said the suspect has been keeping up with.
The owners of the seized goods have since refused to show up even when the suspect made available their phone numbers.
The 200 bags of rice were among the 13,333 bags of smuggled rice in 17×20 feet trucks recently intercepted by the operatives of the unit at different locations in the zone within the month of November.
Effort to get management of GPS Haulage Company proved abortive as none was willing to comment on the matter.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.