The Controller, Federal Operations Unit of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ikeja, Comptroller Umar Dahiru, said that some goods which have a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N780.4 million between January 1 and May 1, 2016 have been impounded.
This was disclosed by the Public Relations Officer of the unit, Uche Ejesieme, in a statement on Saturday in Lagos who also said that the unit also apprehended 69 suspects in connection with the seizures. He also confirmed that N297 million was recovered through the various interventions during the period.
“Comparatively, the report represents a positive increase when compared with the report of the corresponding period of 2015. Every now and then, our operatives are confronted by these street urchins with hostilities, aimed at frustrating the efforts of our operatives. It is instructive to note that these smugglers are deadlier than armed robbers, both in style and mode of operations,” Dahiru said.
The Controller said the unit continued to develop new strategies for fighting smuggling, adding that it was on the basis of this that the unit had remained on top of its statutory mandate.
“We not only seize from the smugglers, we also cut their supply chains and prosecute culprits so as to serve as a deterrent to others. The Service believes that the fight against smuggling cannot be undertaken by the Customs alone, hence we call on Nigerians to partner with us in ensuring complete decimation and blocking of smugglers’ supply chains.”
“We do this principally because of our deep commitment toward ensuring the protection of the economy and enforcement of fiscal policies in terms of trade. Our resolve is unshaken and our commitment is total. We will stop at nothing until we become satisfied that we have completely suppressed smuggling in our clime, ” Dahiru said
According to the statement, the controller also received members of the House of Representatives Committee on Customs.
Dahiru also informed the committee members that the unit recently delivered over 30,000 bags of rice, 9,000 cartons of vegetable oil and a large quantity of second-hand clothings to Internally- Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in the North East in line with the Presidential directive.
