Customs Impounds N663m Contraband

By John Iwori

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone C, “Owerri” Imo State has disclosed that it made a total of 70 seizures with a duty paid value (DPV) of N663,089,296 for the months of January, February and March this year.

Similarly, no fewer than 34 suspects were arrested in connection with the shady deal within the period just as 18 cases arising from the seizures are pending in court.

The items were seized along the Benin Axis, Agbor, Onitsha-Asaba, Owerri, Calabar and Aba/Eleme Roads.

The Customs Area Controller (CAC), FOU, Comptroller Haruna Mmamudu disclosed this at the weekend at the premises of the NCS, Owerri where he showcased the items and the trucks impounded along with them.

He also revealed that the under-payment recovered stood at N214,959,353, pointing out that this is against N7,053,441 recovered in 2015.

He listed the contraband confiscated include 46 vehicles, 380 cartons of article of plastics, 1656 pieces of used tyres; 3,614 cartons of imported frozen poultry products as well as 818 cartons of foreign soap/detergents.

Others are 181 bales of textile fabrics, 737 pieces of bags/suitcases and 85 bundles of footwear as well as 120 packages of furniture and 906 cartons of unregistered drugs.

The CAC also disclosed that over 19 trucks of 50kg rice impounded by his men had been detained for “proper and thorough investigation”.