Authority in charge of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service yesterday said it made a total of 1,119 seizures of contraband items valued at N10.4 billion in the South-West Region in 2023.
Controller of FOU Zone A, Comptroller Hussein Kehinde Ejibunu, made this disclosure while briefing newsmen yesterday at the Unit’s Headquarters in Ikeja on the achievements of his unit in 2023 said rice topped the list of seizures.
He said the unit also recovered about N851.72 million in revenue from fraudulent businessmen through meticulous document checking.
“The most prominent of the seizures is foreign parboiled rice which amounted to 139 trailer loads (83,170 bags of 50kg).
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A breakdown of other seizures is 13,706 kegs by 25 litres of PMS, 8,372 Kg of Indian Hemp, 2,942 pieces of tyres, 2,153 bales of used clothes, 3,095 cartons of frozen poultry, 320 cartons of illicit drugs, 15 pieces of bulletproof jackets, 15 pieces of jack knives, and 68 pieces of military camouflage, 450 drums X 106 kg of carbide, 1 X 40 ft and 2 X 20 ft containers found to contain charcoal and 132 units of foreign used vehicles” he said.
Ejibunu said: “The report of our seizures and arrests attests to the relentless and uncompromising enforcement we deployed in the fight against smuggling in 2023.”
The Controller further disclosed that a total number of 136 persons were arrested at various points within the unit’s area of responsibility and that after due diligence of uncompromising profiling and investigation, the suspects were charged to court and are at different stages of prosecution.
According to him, 16 people were convicted through the Federal High Courts for committing offences of improper importation, assault of Customs officers, being in possession of foreign parboiled rice and being in possession of Pangolin scales meant for export.
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