Customs intercepts fake drugs at Lagos ports

The Comptroller-General Strike Force Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted unregistered and fake drugs imported into the country through the country’s seaport.

The Coordinator of the unit, Deputy Comptroller, Ahmadu Shuaibu, who disclosed this to newsmen, said the unit also recovered N426.4 million as demand notices collected on cargoes that were under-declared at the seaport.

Also impounded were supermarket goods, smuggled foreign parboiled rice among other items.

He said: “Sequel to conscientious documentary checks, the Information Communication Technology (ICT) component of the team recovered the sum of N426.4 million from demand notices raised within April till last Thursday. The money recovered from demand notices could have been lost to unscrupulous importers.”

He said the seizures are products of credible intelligence and meticulous documentary checks, adding that the government’s rationale for prohibiting the importation/exportation of some of these goods is to safeguard the nation’s socio-economic and health wellbeing.

While giving the breakdown of the seizures made within the period under review, he said the seizures include, 575 bales of secondhand clothing, 1,1440 cartons of supermarket goods, 664 cartons of drugs without National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) number, 530 cartons of footwears and 1,600 bags of foreign parboiled rice.

He decried unlawful importation of textile materials into the country, adding that importation is killing the nation’s textile industries and jobs meant for teeming youth in the country.

He warned importers to desist from importing goods, which hurt the nation’s economy and the lives of Nigerians.

He added, “While we appreciate our patriotic trader’s for their compliance with the Customs and Excise extant laws, we employ the cooperation of all international traders to imbibe compliance in the interest of the nation’s socio-economic wellbeing and security,” he said.