Border closure: Customs impound N200m worth of goods in Kano, Jigawa

The Comptroller General of Customs strike force team has impounded contraband goods worth over N200m in Kano and Jigawa states.

National Coordinator of the team in charge of Zone B, Deputy Comptroller Baba Kura Kolobe, made this known while addressing journalists on Tuesday at the Kano/Jigawa command headquarters.

“We are in Kano to showcase what we are able to achieve along Kano axis as a result of the border closure, and this is part of our anti-smuggling activities in Zone B which covers the 19 northern states,” he said.

Mr Kolobe said the seizures were made from 1st April, 2019 to 17th November, 2019 and included 26 used vehicles; 5,661 jerry cans of vegetable oil and 1, 702 bags of foreign rice.

Other items confiscated include 827 bags of foreign mosquito coils; 180 cartons of spaghetti; 825 cartons of foreign soap as well are 1,285 sacks and 192 cartons of foreign shoes.

He added that 28 cartons of foreign macaroni; 819 bales of used clothes; 100 pieces of used tyres; 51 sacks of local beans used in concealing rice; 7 bags of ‘basmatic’ rice of 40kg each; 19 sacks of used shoes and 2 bags of 50kg of foreign sugar were among the seized goods.

Mr Kolobe said “the estimated duty paid value of the items was N219, 407,316.00 just for Kano axis alone which comprised of Kano and Jigawa, and we have other consignments at Hajj Camp, because the space here could not contain all our seized items.”

He advised citizens to always adhere to rules as the strike force would not relent on its effort in ensuring that smugglers pay for their inaction.