The Ogun State Command of the Nigeria Customs
said on Tuesday in Abeokuta that it had seized 3,000 shotgun cartridges
smuggled into the country.
The command also seized 117 bags (392kg) of
Indian hemp with a street value of about N1. 7m in the last three months.
The Customs also confiscated 171 vehicles, 2,058
cartons of frozen products, 465 kegs of 25 litres vegetable oil, four drums and
112 kegs of 25 litres of petrol and 567 bags of imported rice.
It also seized bales of textile materials,
second-hand clothing, shoes, towels, bags and bedsheets worth N11m from
smugglers.
While eight suspects were also arrested by the
command in the past three months, six have been arraigned in court and one has
been convicted and sentenced to two years in jail with an option of N200,000
fine.
The Area Controller, Mr. Ade Dosunmu, said this
at a news conference on Tuesday in Abeokuta where he displayed some of the seized
items.
He transferred the seized bags of Indian hemp to
the officials of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency while the poultry
products were also destroyed and buried at a site.
Dosunmu put the Duty Paid Value of all the
seizures made within the last three months by the command at N258.9m.
He explained that Customs men on patrol in
Agosasa intercepted an unmarked Honda CRV conveying the 3,000 Redstar
High-speed shotgun cartridges worth about N900,000.
The area controller added that the driver of the
CRV however escaped into the bush but was arrested by the patrol team.
He also put the DPV of the 171 vehicles seized by
his men in the past three months at N228. 8m.
Dosunmu said, “Sometimes in the process of trying
to stop the smugglers, they engage our men. So far I can say with all our
efforts, we are ensuring that no life is lost. We have even seized cartridges.
I want to assure Nigerians that Customs will only partner with those doing
legitimate businesses. We’ll facilitate trade but whoever is involved in
illegal trading and does not stop will be brought to book.
“I’ve told my men that if anybody carries turkey
or any other contraband, he should be shot on the legs to make sure he doesn’t
run away.
“When the cannabis suspects saw us, they took to
their heels. My men were actually trapped in the farm and by the time
reinforcement came, the suspects had escaped from the farm. It was from the
farm that we got all these based on intelligence. The farm is at the Imeko
area.”
The area controller also stated that the revenue
of the command shot up within the last three months to a cumulative N1.2bn
against the N961.2m recorded within the same period last year.
Punch
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