The Tincan Island command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has seized a total of 13 containers of tramadol and bales of used clothing with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of three billion, one hundred and thirty-four million, twenty-nine thousand, two hundred and ninety naira (N3, 134,029,290.00).
Recall that 40 containers of tramadol and other pharmaceutical products valued at N7.3bn were seized and displayed at Apapa Customs command by the Comptroller-General of Customs yesterday.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) who conducted journalists around the seizures Friday gave the breakdown of the seizures to include; 11 x 40ft and 2 x 20ft containers of Tramadol, Ciprofloxacin capsules, Diclofenac Sodium Tablets, Soffeathe I.V Cannula, Sildencfil Citrate Tablets, Bleaching Soaps, Bales of used Clothing.
Ali who was represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs (DCG) Enforcement, Inspection and Investigation, DCG Austin Chidi noted that two of the containers had earlier been handed over to NAFDAC on October 11th and 20th, while one container of Tramadol was handed over to NDLEA on November 2nd, 2017.
“In the same vein, a container of soap suspected to contain harmful bleaching ingredients and two containers of used clothing were seized in line with the provisions of CEMA CAP C45 LFN 2004 Sections 46 and 161. All the seizures were in violation of the absolute prohibition list of CET 2015- 2019”, he said.
The Customs boss said the Service achieved this feat through vigilance and intelligence gathering within the system, as well as robust synergy and collaboration of critical stakeholders and the security agencies.
On revenue generation, he stated that the command had collected and generated a total of N303.5billion from January 2018 till date.
Meanwhile, the Customs Area Controller at the command, Comptroller Musa Baba Abdullahi lamented that the problem of illegal tramadol import continues to increase.
“This tramadol issue is addictive and it leads to other illicit vices like stealing, armed robbery among others. In the Northern part of the country, the problem has ravaged the region and it is an issue that demands urgent attention from all stakeholders including the press. The need for enlightenment on this issue can never be overemphasized” he said.
Send your news, press releases/articles to augustinenwadinamuo@yahoo.com. Also, follow us on Twitter @ptreporters and on Facebook on facebook.com/primetimereporters or call the editor on 07030661526, 08053908817.
