Owerri – The Federal Operations Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service, Zone ‘C’ Owerri, has seized 169 contrabands with a duty paid value of N1.37 billion in six months.
A statement from the zone’s Public Relations Officer, Mrs Ifeoma Onuigbo in Owerri on Tuesday said that it also made an underpayment recovery of N394.8 million during the period and arrested 42 suspects in connection with the seizures.
“The duty paid value and the under payment recovery is in contrast to that of the N1.01 billion and a total of N39.6 million recorded by the unit respectively in 2015,’’ the statement said.
It said that 25 smuggling cases were pending before the courts for possible prosecution of the culprits.
It also said that the banned items were confiscated by his officers in the Benin, Calabar, Owerri, Enugu and Aba/Eleme areas in the zone.
The statement said the items packaged and concealed to deceive security agents included 90 vehicles, 2,758 bags of 50-kg rice, 4,160 pieces of used tyres and 1,337 cartons/sets of furniture.
Others were 625 cartons of fake drugs (medicaments), 61 containers of logs of wood, 2,600 pieces of imported school bags, 97 pieces of 14-stroke engine generators and used fridges.
Also included were 3,550 cartons of foreign frozen poultry products, 992 bales of second hand clothing, 897 cartons of foreign detergents and creams as well as 167 pairs of foot wear.
It said the service was ever prepared to tackle the menace of smuggling of unauthorised goods into the country.
The statement also said that the Area Controller, Mr Haruna Mammudu, expressed delight at the seizures recorded in the first quarter of the year as against that of 2015.
It re-emphasised the dangers and implications of smuggling of illegal and unauthorised goods into the country.
It pointed out that smuggling had continued to deal a devastating blow on the nation’s economy, while many families had been ruined. (NAN)
