On Thursday, the Nigeria Customs Service’s Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A, stopped 14 trucks carrying imported parboiled rice that were being smuggled into the nation from the Benin Republic in Ogun State.
The acting Customs Area Controller, Compt. Hussein Ejibunu, stated at a news conference in Lagos that the unit had collected a debit note from cargo importers for under-declaring cargoes totaling N66.72 million.
The organization also revealed that 48 distinct cases are in various stages of prosecution while eight convictions were obtained through the Federal High Court in the last 10 months.
According to Ejibunu, the convicted smugglers are Ayo Ayinla, Abdulrasak Egbekunle, and Tunde Rasheed (who were discovered in possession of bags of imported parboiled rice).
Kehinde Kilani (inappropriate Importation), Adeleke Adebayo (found in possession of bags of foreign parboiled rice), Victor Hassan and Yusuf Shuaib (caught in possession of illegal goods), and Nguyen Huy Hieu (discovered in possession of pangolin scales intended for export) are some other offered
Speaking about the interception, Ejibunu added that the unit recovered 486 parcels of cannabis sativa, commonly known as indian hemp, 221 cartons of smuggled chicken goods from abroad, four units of used foreign cars, 111 pieces of used tires, 10 bales of used apparel, and eight sacks of used shoes.
The head of Customs claims that 48 distinct cases are in various stages of prosecution and that 2,428 kegs of premium motor spirit (PMS) in quantities of 25 liters each, together with other contraband, were seized in April 2023.
“While the smugglers planned to take us unaware during the religious festivities, our round-the-clock patrols were sustained and backed with intelligence even during the public holidays. Interestingly, the outcome of our unrelenting onslaught against smuggling is the remarkable drop evident in the number of seizures recorded with zero casualties.
“We want to reiterate that it pays for importers, exporters, haulage operators, and their agents to operate within the ambit of the law because doing otherwise places them at risk of losing their investments and facing prosecution as enshrined in the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA),” he added.
He did, however, reveal that the unit had obtained a debit note from importers for N66.726 million in an effort to avert revenue loss due to undervaluation, underpayments, and incorrect classification.
Ejibunu issued a warning against smuggling illegal goods into the nation, claiming that doing so is a crime rather than a legitimate business.
“The perpetrators of these criminal activities are not unaware of what the law says because we have taken enlightenment to them through different ways, including enlisting assistance of traditional rulers, community leaders and the media.
“Thus, anyone that puts in his savings or obtains a loan to invest in any illegitimate business will have to contend with the attendant consequences of such choices, when the law will take its natural course.
“No matter the mouth-watering returns people expect to make from smuggling, they should have it at the back of their minds that they stand the risk of losing their investment, prosecuted and jailed,” he pointed out.
He continued by saying that without the deployment of logistics support given by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali, (Rtd), and his management team in the fight to safeguard the national economic interest, this Unit’s successes in the suppression of desperate measures for economic criminality would not have been possible.
