Customs In Seme Border Handles N4.9bn Exportable Goods

Seme Border Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it handled exportable goods valued at N4.9 billion between January and June.
Area Comptroller Willy Egbudin said this on Monday in a mid-year report of the command made available to our correspondent in Lagos.

Egbudin said that goods exported were plastics, furniture, fruit and drinks in retail packs, mattress, beer and slippers, among others.
He said the total amount due for the Nigeria Export Supervision Scheme was N24.5 million.

The comptroller said in spite of the challenges posed by the aquatic and marshy terrain of the command, it had achieved higher level of suppression of smuggling and other related offences.

He said this was possible through increased enforcement activities, enlightenment of border communities and the trading public about the dangers of smuggling.

Egbudin said18 suspected smugglers were arrested and their cases were at various stages of investigation and prosecution.

The comptroller said the command also made 487 seizures with a Duty Paid Value of N196.2 million.

He said that during the period under review, ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme and complaint-goods with a Cost Insurance Freight value of N5.39 billion were cleared through the command.

The controller also reiterated his effort in ensuring that the menace of smuggling within his jurisdiction is brought to its barest minimum.

Achieving this, he said the command has continued to enlighten the border communities and the trading public on the dangers of smuggling which according to him is inimical to the country.

Speaking further, he stated that the command is winning the war on smuggling as effective and strategic deployment of operatives of the command and proper intelligence sharing and management have been applied as strategies in curbing the dreadful act.

He stressed that activities in the command is at the peak as officers of the command have acknowledged that smugglers are frustrated, most of them are now plying other border posts, he added.
Butressing this, the Officer in Charge of Operations, Assistant Controller Nkemdiri, said that the patrol team of the command works round the clock to ensure no vehicle pass through the border post without being properly checked.

"Customs officers are working round the clock, as you can see, most of the smugglers plying this route are frustrated as we are fully prepared to ensuring they do not evade duty or bring in dangerous and prohibited items into the country ,rather they are now plying other border posts," Nkemdiri said.
To justify this,the command said it has intercepted three vehicles conveying prohibited frozen poultry products into the country worth N5million.

In a statement by the command’s image maker, it said the smuggled items were conveyed into the country from the neighbouring Benin Republic, through a bush path on Seme border in order to evade arrest by the patrol teams of the command.

According to him, the smugglers who are currently at large, on sensing the customs operatives fled in the bush, abandoning their goods and vehicles. He added that the frozen poultry products may have been targeted at the forthcoming Muslim post fasting celebration.

However, the Customs helmsman, Compt. Willy Egbudin, who supervised the destruction of the prohibited products vowed that the criminals must not go scot free as he used the seizure as a deterrent for those who have such intention of using festive periods in importing prohibited items into the country to desist as the command will ensure they face the wrath of the law.

''As we destroy and bury these seized frozen poultry products today, we will keep advising everyone to shun illegalities and invest their resources in legitimate trades.

"This seizure is a warning signal to anyone who attempts to dare us during festivities or any other time of the year, because we are aware of their antics, our men are deployed in the bushes while normal patrol and manned approved check points are sustained.