The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone C, Owerri has impounded N5.35 billion contraband from smugglers and fraudulent importers.
The unit said that nine smugglers were arrested in connection with the seizures, adding that it recorded N152 million from importers, who made under declaration at seaports. The FOU Zone C covered all the states in the Southeast and South-South Region including Bayelsa, Port Harcourt 1 and 2, Edo, Delta, Cross River, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Imo and Akwa Ibom According to the Area Controller of the unit, Comptroller Kayode Kolade, as the Customs, smugglers had been losing huge millions of naira to the Federal Government daily.
He said that the contraband seized included: five sacks of pangolin scales; 398 sacks of Indian hemp, weighing 8,756kg, and another 2,308 compressed parcels of Indian hemp of 1kg each, noting that five sacks of pangolin scales weighing 413.1kg and the 11,064kg of Indian hemp were the highest, if not arguably the first seizure of such endangered species and hard drugs in the history of the zone. Also, Kolade noted 31 cartons of various medicaments including tramadol; 32 jerry cans of petrol, and 540 pieces of used tyres were seized, stressing that between July 25 and September 23, 2023, the FOU Zone C intercepted cannabis sativa; raw materials for production of explosive devices, as well as other contraband with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N1.6 billion. Other items seized in the last year are fake pharmaceutical products, tramadol, used vehicles, used tyres, used clothing, and explosive raw materials among others.
He said: “In total, the unit further seized goods worth over N5billion in the total Duty Paid Value (DPV) category in the 2023 fiscal year. Also, in the year under review, the officers of the unit under the leadership of Compt. Kolade, the unit raised Demand Notice (DN) worth over N152 million to fraudulent importers, thereby, saving the Federal Government revenue that would have hitherto, been lost to fraudulent importers.”
