THE Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘C’, Owerri says it has recorded a total of 467 seizures of illegally imported items with an overall Duty Paid Value of N2,709,807,358 in the year 2015.
The Customs Area Controller of the Unit, Mr. Victor Dimka, gave the detail of the seizure while briefing newsmen in Owerri.
Dimka said 316 suspected smugglers of contraband goods were arrested; one was convicted while 23 cases were still in court.
Dimka added that the total sum of N130,144,103.00, being underpayment for goods, were recovered.
He said the seizures included 343 vehicles, 378 bales of bags/suitcases; 6,472 pieces of imported used tyres; 8,855 cartons of foreign frozen poultry products; and 2,758 bales of imported textile materials.
Others, he said, were 10 cartons of foreign beverages/juice; 2,584 bags of 50kg imported rice; 6,747 pairs of foot wears; 45 cartons of electrical/electronic equipment; 108 cartons of foreign vegetable oil; 1,387 packages of foreign furniture; and 412 cartons of foreign soaps and detergents.
In addition, Dimka said that 1,561 cartons of fake medicaments; 7,493 bales of second-hand clothing and 5,642 cartons of other contraband items were equally impounded by the unit during the year under review.
He said there was a geometric growth in result of tackling smuggling within the zone.
“The current seizure report with duty paid value is 29 per cent and 50 per cent in increase respectively when compared to seizure report of year 2014 that recorded 363 seizures with Duty Paid Value of N1, 805,843,064.00.
“This increase also featured in the current report on duty recovered through demand notice issued as the increase represented in percentage of 81 per cent is above the sum of N72, 762,029 recovered on 59 demand notice issued and recorded in year 2014,” he said.
The CAC, who denounced the upsurge of smuggling activities in the country despite stiff penalties for culprits arrested, warned those in the illicit business to desist.
He said the NCS had been fortified to deal with the problem of smuggling by some unpatriotic individuals desperate to make quick money to the detriment of the nation’s economy.
Dimka added that the NCS, under the leadership of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (retd.), would continue to apply decency and professionalism in the discharge of its statutory responsibilities, warning that officers found guilty of official misconduct must be dealt with accordingly.
He called on members of the public with useful information about smugglers, their agents, sponsors and collaborators, to contact law enforcement agencies for prompt action, emphasizing that such vital information would be handled with utmost confidentiality.
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