The Federal Operations Unit, Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Tuesday announced that its officers seized 104 brand new motorcycles, popularly called “Okada,” 11 used vehicles, 23,025 litres of PMS, 556 cartons of slippers, and 3,653 x 50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice (equivalent to 6.5 trailer loads) amongst other seizures across different locations in Ogun State in January 2024.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos, the Customs Area Controller of the Unit, Comptroller Hussein Kehind Ejibunu, explained that the movement of 104 brand new motorcycles along a bush in Ogun State raised suspicion due to the use of motorcycles by bandits and kidnappers across the country.
According to Comptroller Ejibunu, “Smuggling is a crime that involves the act of false declaration and concealment of goods, the use of unapproved routes and ports for the exportation or importation of goods, forging of Customs documents, willful under-payment of Customs duties, and trafficking in prohibited or restricted goods, among others.
“The impact of smuggling has serious repercussions on the economy, the environment, health, and security. Thus, to restrain this trend of illegal commercial activities, there is a need for collaboration and strong partnership with other critical stakeholders through sharing of information and intelligence.
“In a continuous and renewed vigour to fight smuggling, we activated an enhanced intelligence gathering and information sharing mechanism and were able to identify some new smuggling hot spots and schemes employed by smugglers.
This strategy yielded 60 seizures worth a total duty paid value of N854,156,712. The following major seizures were recorded within January 2024: 3,653 x 50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice (equivalent to 6.5 trailer loads), 23,025 litres of PMS, 241 bales of used clothes, 1,490 kg of Indian Hemp, 1,220 cartons of foreign tomato paste, 983 pieces of used tyres, 104 units of Haojuo motorcycles, 556 cartons of slippers, and 11 units of used vehicles.
“The status of these goods was found to have contravened different sections of the Customs Act (2023), while some were expired at the time of importation; others flouted the import statutory guidelines.
“A total of ten suspects were arrested in connection with some of the goods.
“On revenue recovery, the sum of N83,141,803.60 was generated through documentary checks and issuance of demand notices on consignments that were found to have been short-paid.
“The general public is encouraged to be aware of the consequences of smuggling and its harmful effects because it is this awareness that would help to reduce the demand for smuggled goods and discourage individuals from participating in smuggling activities.
“Having established the fact that smuggling is a crime that affects the general well-being of the nation, it becomes compelling for all patriotic citizens to join the enforcement and regulatory agencies to curb the menace of smuggling. Thank you for listening.”