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Customs FOU rakes in N5.9b

By Sulaimon Salau
10 January 2018   |   4:15 am
The Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, Lagos has raked in about N5.9 billion through its anti smuggling operations in 2017.

The Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, Lagos has raked in about N5.9 billion through its anti smuggling operations in 2017.

The Controller, Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’ Comptroller Mohammed Uba Garba, while assessing last year’s operations, said despite the challenges in 2017, the Unit recorded the highest seizures and revenue so far in the history of the Federal Operations Ikeja.

According to him, having intensified its anti-smuggling operations, the FOU, Ikeja, intercepted various contraband with a duty paid value (DPV) of N4billion between January to December 2017.

Also, the unit through its interventions recovered N1.9 billion from duty payments and demand notices on general goods that tried to beat the system from seaports, airport and border stations through wrong classification, transfer of value, and shortchange in duty payment that are meant for the Federal Government of Nigeria. This resulted to a cumulative of N5.9 billion in 2017.

However, he stated that 179 suspects were arrested in connection to 1,046 different seizures comprising foreign parboiled rice, frozen poultry products, vegetable oil, smuggled vehicles, Indian hemp, arms, fake pharmaceutical/medicaments and various general merchandise.

Uba, while commending the commitment and diligence of the officers and men of the FOU ‘A’ for thwarting the antics of some dare devil smugglers who used different methods to deceive the service, further charged his officers to be professional and diligent in performing their statutory responsibilities in the year 2018; most especially in the area of anti-smuggling operations by making sure all revenue linkages are blocked.

He enjoined all hands to be on deck in the fight against these economic saboteurs who mean no good for the economy.

Garba added that smuggling is a global phenomenon, which cannot be curbed entirely but can be brought to its barest minimum. He appreciated all security and sister agencies (Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police, NDLEA, NAFDAC, SON,) that rendered logistics support and cooperation towards winning the war against smuggling within the southwest zone.

He further warned all prospective smugglers and their accomplices to desist from such illegality and invest their money in legitimate business, as the Unit has devised other operational modalities that give them a run for their money and count their losses, if not jailed.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Federal Government policy banning the importation of vehicles and rice through the land borders is still in force and we are ever ready and equipped to enforce these polices to the latter.

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