The Seme command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said that it seized goods worth fifty-four million, four hundred and sixty-five thousand naira (N54,465,000) in its renewed anti-smuggling operations.
A statement issued in Lagos on Wednesday by the command’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Selechang Taupyen showed that 3200 x 50KG bags of rice, 1000 cartons of frozen poultry products which has since been destroyed in accordance with the extant laws, 720×25 jerry cans of vegetable oil and 57 bales of second hand clothing, with a total duty paid value of fifty four million, four hundred and sixty five thousand naira only (N 54, 465, 000.00) were seized during the operations.
According to Taupyen, the Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service in recent times had engaged in a renewed effort of aggressive anti-smuggling operation there by tightening the land border against smuggling activities.
The command he said was deploying all necessary tools to ensure that the core mandate of the Service (Revenue generation, facilitation of legitimate trade and suppression of smuggling) amongst others were vigorously achieved adding that actualizing the functions of revenue generation and legitimate trade facilitation depended solely on how smuggling activities were aggressively suppressed to the barest minimum.
“It is against this backdrop that the anti-smuggling unit of the command has intensified its operations in order to curb the menace of trans-border crimes (smuggling) and other vices.
“The ongoing aggressive patrol by the anti-smuggling unit of illegal routes and flanks of the border is yielding tremendous results, and has translated into the seizure of numerous items”, he said.
Commenting on the seizures, the Customs Area Comptroller of the command, Comptroller Aliyu Mohammed disclosed that combating smuggling was a major responsibility that the Nigeria Customs Service was saddled with and as such, compliance with Government fiscal policies was not an option to an institution that was bestowed with such enormous responsibilities.
He further stated that officers were adequately motivated and re-orientated to execute their functions creditably and discretionally without compromise.
Comptroller Mohammed further reiterated that in order to key into the presidential mandate (Reform, Restructure and Revenue generation), smuggling activities had to be confronted headlong in order to prevent revenue leakages.
This reality according to him had necessitated the proactive approach of the enforcement unit to ensure smuggling activities was maximally suppressed in order to enhance and boost revenue generation.
The Command’s helmsman while showcasing the seizures made, charged all officers and men to maintain the tempo in combating smuggling activities across the frontiers adding that though the drastic reduction of economic activities through the corridor had impacted negatively on the revenue profile of the command, the Command remained undaunted in ensuring that smuggling was suppressed to its barest minimum.
The Comptroller used the opportunity to call on all concerned Nigerians, stakeholders and other relevant agencies at the borders to help the service in giving credible intelligence for all kinds of trans-border crimes to be nib in the bud.
He re-iterated that the Nigeria Customs Service Seme command would continue to protect the Nigerian economy by ensuring that the local industries were protected to give employment opportunities to the teaming population of the unemployed youths.
He further stated that this could only be achieved by ensuring that the fiscal policies of the federal government were enforced to the later.
He used the Customs Community Consultative Forum (CCCF) platform to sensitize and advise the youth in the host communities to stay away from border vices as offenders caught in the act would be made to face the full wrath of the law.
The warning became necessary in view of the fact that others who had fallen victims of smuggling offences were currently undergoing prosecution at various law courts.
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