The Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘C’, Owerri has seized 11 items of various contraband valued at about N131Million in May, 2013.
The Customs Area Controller, Deputy Comptroller Victor Dimka, while addressing newsmen in Owerri last week, revealed that two suspects were arrested in connection with the seizures, adding that they have been charged to court.
The Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘C’, Owerri has seized 11 items of various contraband valued at about N131Million in May, 2013.
The Customs Area Controller, Deputy Comptroller Victor Dimka, while addressing newsmen in Owerri last week, revealed that two suspects were arrested in connection with the seizures, adding that they have been charged to court.
Giving an breakdown of the seizures, he disclosed that they include : 410 jumbo bales of second hand clothing worth N74,808,240.00; 1,517 cartons of imported frozen turkey and chicken worth N31,913,000.00; a truck load 333 bags of 50kg foreign rice impounded along Calabar axis worth N7,550,800.00; 3,594 pairs of used footwear worth N7,368,520.00; and nine sacks of Indian hemp worth N2,625,000.00; as well as 23 rolls of textile materials worth N2,238,000.00.
Throwing light into how the seizure were made, he disclosed that , out of the 410 bales of second hand clothing seized, 140 bales were concealed with 18 tons of scrap metals along Calabar axis, another 75 bales with 23 rolls of textile materials (printed wax) were concealed in sand tipping mark truck with the inscription on the body of the vehicle “Human Rights Against Corruption” along Uyo axis; and 123 jumbo bales concealed with rolls of furniture fabrics, drums of animal fats and packets of scoth tissue along Enugu-Nsukka axis; while the remaining 72 bales with second hand shoes, furniture tables and chairs were concealed with electronics & electrical materials impounded along Agbor road.
Others were a 40-foot iron body trailer containing cartons of imported frozen turkey concealed in-between 75 pieces of chest freezers of range between 219-519 litres haier thermocool along Benin/Ore road; and the nine sacks of Indian hemp concealed in commercial vehicle along Enugu-Port Harcourt Road.
Promising hell for smugglers, Deputy Comptroller Dimka warned that: “No smuggling activity will elude the eagle eyes of Customs Officers because the Comptroller –General of Customs (CGC), Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko Inde-CFR and his management have ably empowered us and provided the platform for achievements through his various capacity building programmes aimed at equipping officers with the necessary skills for improved performance in tracking down smuggling activities”.
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