The Oyo /Osun Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) yesterday said it collected about N12 billion between January and October , 2015.
The Acting -Controller of the command, Mr Abdulsalam Hassan , disclosed this at a news conference where he reeled out efforts by the command to improve on its past successes.
Hassan said that during the period, the command made a total of 154 seizures while the duty paid on them amounted to about N380 million.
He said that the command also intercepted a fairly used DAF truck with registration number SH81XA along the Iseyin -Ibadan Road on Nov. 2.
The impounded vehicle was loaded with 393 bags of rice each weighing 50 kg and another and seven loosen bags of rice concealed with some yam tubers.
He said that three persons namely: Nurudeen Owoiya, Adegboyega Kehinde and Saidi Tenibegiloju , arrested alongside the goods had been handed over to the Oyo State Police Command.
He said that another 400 bags of 50Kg of rice were also intercepted along the Saki- Ago Are axis in Oyo State on Nov. 6.
According to Hassan, another truck with registration number LSR 856 XG was arrested along Saki- Iseyin Road loaded with bags of rice and concealed with planks.
He said that the driver and the passenger in the vehicle were now at large.
The acting controller said that another truck was also traced by the command from the Ilesa -Baruba axis and was later arrested at Saki-Oyo Road.
According to him, the truck was loaded with rice and concealed with cows and planks while the number of the bags of rice was yet to be ascertained.
The acting controller said that rice importers have been leveraging on the removal and restriction on the collection of duty on rice importation as announced by the new Controller General of Customs.
"Patriotic rice importers have leveraged on this to boost their business while the recalcitrant and deceitfully ones have continued to device other concealment patterns to continue in their unpatriotic deals.
He said that the Nigeria Customs Service officers would continue to deploy their superior intelligence to burst the smugglers out of business.
Discussion about this post