The Federal Operations Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service Zone ‘C’, Owerri, has intercepted 22 vehicles and other contrabands worth N317.4 million.
The Area Controller of the unit, Mr Victor Dimka, announced the seizure in Benin on Friday while conducting newsmen round the goods.
He said that the importers of the vehicles did not pay duties on them while the other seized items were contraband.
Dimka said that two suspects had been arrested in connection with the seizures while the drivers of the seized vehicles were in customs custody.
The Federal Operations Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service Zone ‘C’, Owerri, has intercepted 22 vehicles and other contrabands worth N317.4 million.
The Area Controller of the unit, Mr Victor Dimka, announced the seizure in Benin on Friday while conducting newsmen round the goods.
He said that the importers of the vehicles did not pay duties on them while the other seized items were contraband.
Dimka said that two suspects had been arrested in connection with the seizures while the drivers of the seized vehicles were in customs custody.
He said that some of the vehicles had deceptive inscriptions, adding that transporters should desist from employing smugglers as drivers.
Dimka said that his men would henceforth subject vehicles of companies and organisations to search and questioning.
He also said that most smugglers had cultivated the habit of using fake customs papers and army letter-headed papers to ferry goods around the country.
Dimka urged members of the public to assist the customs service in exposing the smugglers.
He attributed the magnitude of seizures made by the unit in the past few months to the modernisation, motivation and empowerment of the officials.
The controller also warned smugglers to desist from the act. The seized items include: 32,000 pairs of shoes worth N69.9 million and 210 used tyres valued at N992,250.
The other seizures are: 712 bales of second-hand clothes worth N67.3 million; 88 refrigerators valued at N5.06 million, and 510 cartons of diapers worth N3.99 million.
Discussion about this post