The Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service says it has intercepted 3,447 parcels of cannabis sativa, 10,608 bags of rice, 109 used vehicles and other items with a Duty Paid Value of N886,428,163:41 between Jan. and Aug.2021.
Comptroller Bello Jibo, the Controller, Seme Area Command disclosed this during the press briefing at the command office in Seme-Krake Border, Lagos.
According to him, the dedication, commitment of our officers and men and a very good working relationship with our stakeholders contributed immensely to the successes achieved within the period under review.
“The efforts of the valiant officers and men of the Command translates into remarkable interceptions of 1244smuggled items with a DPV of N886m.
“The Command had in July, 2021 made a huge seizure of 3,186 parcels of cannabis sativa concealed with sharp sand along Badagry-Seme road.
“Also, in our last press briefing, the command handed over 232 parcels of cannabis sativa to National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Special Command Seme.
“Securing our borders is a collective responsibility; the Nigeria Customs Service ensures inter-agency cooperation and coordination among all the other security agencies at the border,” he said.
Jibo said that service had handed the 3,447 parcels of the seized substances between Jan. and Aug. to NDLEA.
“The street values of these items were estimated to be N98, 983, 836:40
“Similarly, the reinvigorated Command’s drive against the smuggling of premium motor spirit (PMS) also known as petrol has recorded tremendous achievements.
“During the period under review, 10,309 jerry cans of petrol 25litres this is equivalent to eight trailers tankers load of thirty three thousand litres each.
“Other seizures made within the same period under review includes 44 bags of fertilizer, 608 cartons of frozen poultry products, 784 rolls of cigarettes, 11 Jerry cans of 25 litres and 843 cartoons of tomatoes paste.
“We also seized 605 pairs of used shoes, 24 sacks of used cloths, 19 pieces of used tyres, 153 sachets of Herbicides and 1419 packs of different drugs and other general
merchandise.
“Out of the total smuggled vehicles intercepted, 37 are presently in court awaiting condemnation,” he said.
The controller said that the above successes recorded could be attributed to the continuous robust stakeholders engagements, vigorous intelligence gathering through collaboration with the host communities and security agencies.
“It is also the determination and commitment demonstrated by the officers and men of the Semester command and ensuring compliance to extant government fiscal policies as relates to import and export,” he said.
On revenue, the controller said the Benin Republic economic policies affected the revenue drive of the Command as all goods transiting through Benin were mandated to pay some duties and levies.
According to him, this is contrary to ECOWAS protocols and international transit agreements.
Jibo said that nevertheless, the command collected the sum of N718, 828, 529:85 only as revenue during the period under review.
“The Command processed and exited exported trade volume of 635, 149.23 MT, with the Free On Board (FOB) value of N15, 564, 130, 500only, and the NESS value of N78, 203, 779: 81 only, during the period under review.
“Under ETLS, the Command treated and exited 1,314 trucks of goods under the scheme.
“The grand total for both seizure and revenue during the period under review is N1, 605, 256, 693:26 only.
“It is pertinent to appreciate the maximum cooperation received from stakeholders, the border communities, security agencies and the media for their support, patriotism and cooperation towards achieving our core mandate of revenue collection and suppression of smuggling
” We thank the Comptroller General of Customs and the management team for their support, guidance, and the gallant and patriotic officers of the command for their commitment to the development and progress of the nation,” he said.
