Kano/Jigawa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has expressed concern over a new method adopted by smugglers by using cows to smuggle contraband foreign rice into the country through porous borders.
Parading two of such cows impounded recently, the Command’s Comptroller, Nasir Ahmed said the services had also impounded contraband goods with Duty Paid Value of N76million.
Nasir added that 27 vehicles, nine motor cycles and one tricycle being used for smuggling contraband goods into the country were impounded from November 1 to 26, 2018.
He explained that during the period under review a total of 3,079 bags of rice, 770 cartons of spaghetti, 17 bundles of second hand clothes, 40 bags of foreign sugar and 101 jerry cans of foreign vegetable oil were impounded.
“These seizures are made possible with the assistant of the communities, Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU) and the service patrol teams,” he said.
Ahmed said one person had been arrested in connection with the smuggling, adding that youths in the border town of Babura in Jigawa state had been engaged in smuggling rice using motorcycles.
The comptroller urged parents, guardians, traditional and community leaders to help the service in the ongoing fight against smuggling by discouraging their wards from engaging into the trend.
“We must do something in a collective way to stop smuggling of rice and other goods into the country so that our locally made produce can be patronized. Any nation that is not sufficient in food cannot be said to be a nation. We cannot have food security if we continue to smuggle it.
“We tell the smugglers to try another business because we are not slowing down for them, we will always get them, impound their goods and prosecute them,” he said.
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