The Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun 1 Area Command, has disclosed that it has impounded contraband goods worth N3,400,226,707 in the last six months of the year.
The command added that it generated a total sum of N29,940,146.50 from import duties and auction sales of petrol seized from smugglers.
The Ogun 1 Area Controller, Bamidele Makinde, said these at a press briefing held in Abeokuta on Wednesday while showcasing the 2022 scorecard of the command between January and June.
Makinde said his men intercepted 25,906 bags of foreign parboiled rice of 50kg each, being equivalent to 43 trailer loads in the first six months of the year.
According to him, the command, within six months, impounded 1,433 cartons of frozen poultry products; 72 units of used vehicles (foreign used, including Marcopolo bus); 20 units of used motorcycles; 1,400 packets, 2,250 sachets of tramadol, and 168 packets of codeine; 289 cartons of tomato paste; 258 sacks & 661 wraps of cannabis sativa; 140 pieces of used tyres; 11,645 kegs of 25 litres each of petrol and 343 cartons of foreign wine.
Others are 34 bales, 113 sacks and 36 Ghana-must-go bags of second-hand clothes; 64 sacks and 2,218 pairs of used footwears; 328 cartons, 320 sacks and 72 pairs of new footwears; 180 pieces of female handbags; 375 bales, 925 pieces of textile materials and 900 pieces of machetes.
Makinde explained, “the cumulative Duty Paid Value for all the above seizures amounted to N3,400,226,707.”
He added that the 2022 half-year performance of the NCS indicated a significant increase in revenue collection and value of seizures recorded, compared to what happened in the first half of 2021.
He said, “The revenue generated from January to June last year was N15,261,074.00 compared to this year’s revenue of N29,940,146.50. Similarly, the estimated Duty Paid Value of items seized this year which is N3,400,226,707.00 is higher than that of last year’s record which was N834,765,273.00. That is about a 400% increase.”
He clarified that the command was able to record the achievements due to continuous stakeholder’s engagement, management, deployment of intelligence in all the operations across the state, structural reorganisation of the command, and improved motivation of officers by the NCS management.
He promised that the command would continue to dialogue, engage, sensitise and educate the public on the social/economic implications of smuggling as well as performing its statutory function of enforcing compliance in line with government fiscal policies.
“We shall strengthen the Customs-Community Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility within our capacity,” he stated.
