The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘C’, with headquarters in Owerri, Imo State, has intercepted prohibited Tramadol, Indian hemp and other contraband valued at N99 million.
According to Jerry Attah, Public Relations Officer, FOU, Zone ‘C’, in a statement for the Controller, made available to Daily Independent, they were able to make such breakthrough as a result of the strengthened anti-smuggling operations of the zone.
“The unit, through the strengthened anti-smuggling operations, intercepted Tramadol and other contraband goods with a Duty Paid Value (DPV), of ninety-nine million, eight hundred and twenty thousand naira (N99,820,000,00) only, from April to June 2021.
“In the months under review, five suspects were arrested in connection with the seizures which include: 45 rolls containing 4,500 sachets of 225mg of the royal brand of Tramadol, 210 bags of 50kg each, foreign parboiled rice, 18 parcels of Indian Hemp; 19, 725 sachets of Dizapam tablet, 98 bales of used clothing, 220 cartons of foreign tomatoes paste, 12 cartons of foreign Johnson soap, 240 pieces of used tyres, 668 pairs of used shoes, among others, mostly intercepted along Okada-Benin/Lagos expressway.”
Comptroller Yusuf Lawal, the Area Controller of Zone ‘C’ Unit of NCS, who noted that even though smuggling had become a global phenomenon that cannot be eradicated entirely, made a clarion call that all hands must be on deck to reduce the trend to the barest minimum.
He commended the resilience and doggedness of his officers and men that brought about these results, noting that only God knows what would have happened if Tramadol had its way and got to the wrong hands at this trying moment. He added that the negative consequences cannot be over-emphasized.
The Comptroller averred that this feat could not have been possible without the logistics support of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd), and the entire management, as well as the media for your partnership in sensitising and educating the general public on the evil of smuggling to the nation’s economy, which has led to a drastic reduction of smuggling within our zone.
“I also thank our sister agencies that are always on the ground, giving us the necessary operational support, most especially the Nigeria Army, Police, DSS, among others, and looked forward to sustaining such a relationship that would yield better performance in the remaining half of the year,” he said.
Comptroller Lawal, while urging his officers and men to always ensure professionalism and be diligent in performing their statutory responsibilities, charged them to sustain the anti-smuggling operations by making sure all revenue leakages are blocked. He urged them to keep thwarting the antics of daredevil smugglers who used different methods of concealment for smuggling.
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