The Federal Operations Unit, Zone A, of the Nigerian Customs Service has seized smuggled vehicles and other items, arresting 11 suspects connected to the operation.
This was disclosed in a statement and photos shared on the official X handle of the NCS on Thursday.
According to the statement, the Acting Comptroller of the Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’, Hussein Ejibubu, warned against the use of ingenious concealment methods to transport smuggled goods to Nigeria.
He stated this while addressing newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday, explaining that “smuggling is illegal and a crime that has negative social, economic, and security implications.”
He also added that his unit will continuously work hard to improve detection methods with the aid of intelligence.
The statement read, “While showcasing seizures made in November, he disclosed that the strategic deployment of officers with intelligence-driven in anti-smuggling operations led to the arrest of a Toyota Highlander with an ingenious concealment of suspected bags of foreign parboiled rice at Iju-Ojuore, Ogun State.
“He stressed that the concealment of foreign bags of rice stacked inside the engines of vehicles not only contravenes the law but is also harmful to human consumption.
“Other seized items within the period under review include: 5,459 bags of 50kg foreign rice (equivalent to nine trailer loads), 18,100 liters of premium motor spirit, 376 bales of used clothes, 1,926 cartons of frozen poultry products, 337 pieces of used compressors, three 40 ft containers containing 3,838 pieces of used tyres, 13 used vehicles (Tokunbo), and 396 cartons of frozen fish, all worth N872,575,250.”
The Acting Comptroller further disclosed that 11 suspects were arrested during the anti-smuggling operations and called for the collaborative efforts of all citizens to support the service by providing valuable and timely information that would aid the anti-smuggling drive.
