The Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has seized 843 bags of rice concealed in different means of conveyance ranging from petrol tanker to motor vehicles.
The seized rice with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N5, 880,000.00 according to the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr.Taupyen Selechang was made possible through intelligent sharing of information among the seasoned officers of the Command.
Selechang who spoke in a press release he sent to Primetime Reporters Friday said that the recent seizure which was coordinated between Owode and Gbaji officers did not come as a surprise as the Command’s anti-smuggling drive was stretched to all area including the creeks that were not accessible to vehicular patrols and the entire approved checkpoint manned by the officers of the command.
According to him,” With the drastic suppression of the smuggling of imported frozen poultry product through the command, the command officers are beaming their search light on all travelers and traders across the frontier, since the likelihood of switching to other trans-border crime cannot be written off.
Seme Command is therefore leaving no stone unturned as the Command is involved in sensitizing and mobilizing all locals within the border to support customs effort in combating smuggling activities through sharing of information especially as we enter the Ember months. The Customs Command is also doing all it can to facilitate legitimate trade across the border and block all revenue leakages that will be detrimental to the goal of revenue generation”.
The Command’s spokesman therefore advocated for the cooperation of the stakeholders to join hands in sensitizing the youth to explore other means of livelihood than smuggling as they approach the last quarter of the year adding that Seme Command also sought the collaboration of the mass media in enlightening the citizenry on the danger of smuggling to the economy.
“The Command has made a giant stride in revenue collection, trade facilitation and suppression of smuggling. The Command also made seizures of illicit drugs twice in the month of August, 2015 which had been transferred to our sister agency, The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) with two suspect named Mr.Olayiwola Olawale and Mr.Saheed Ajadi respectively.
“On a concluding note, the trading public is advised to shun all antics of defrauding the Federal Government of revenue by concealment, smuggling, false declaration and undervaluation of dutiable goods and embrace the legitimate way of doing business across the international border”, he appealed.
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