Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has listed some communities inKwara and Niger as notorious for smuggling activities over the years.
Various items with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N54 million have been seized.
The items were confiscated from June 2031 to date by the Zone B of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), comprising Kano/Jigawa axis.
The coordinator of the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) Strike Force Zone B, DC Oseni Aliyu-Olorukoba, while briefing newsmen of its achievements listed the items seized to include five vehicles, two motorcycles, 20 bales of second-hand clothes, 50 jerry cans of foreign vegetation oil, 279 bags of foreign rice, 675 cartons of foreign tomatoes and 1,517 cartons of foreign soap.
He called on traditional rulers in the area to sensitize their people on the danger of smuggling, saying that it was an act that sabotages the nation’s development and revenue drive.
He added, “Pursuant to the CGC’s zero tolerance policy on smuggling, the CGC Strike Force, Zone B, is here to carry out the CGC’s order to ensure that we stamp out any manner of smuggling along Kano/Jigawa axis.”
Aliyu-Olorukoba warned any would-be smuggler to put a stop, assuring that there was no place for them to hide, saying that such people would not only lose their investments, but also be arrested and charged to court for prosecution.
He expressed concern with the incessant attacks on NCS personnel while on duty by suspected smugglers and urged the media to intensify their efforts at enlightening the public on the dangers associated with smuggling.