Customs seizes 100 cartons of smart phones In Ogun

Abiola Seun

The Ogun State command of the Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS) has seized 100 Cartons of new smart phones smuggled into the country from Benin Republic.

In a press statement over the weekend, the Public Relations Officer of the command, Abdullahi Maiwada, said the cartons consist of 343 pieces of itel phones.

Maiwada who quoted the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Michael Agbara said the phones were dutiable but they were seized because the importer refused to disclosed it to customs operatives.

He said, “40 x 142; 60 x 200 and 40 x 41 android cartons of Itel Phones were seized.”

However, the area Command said it generated N6.735 billion revenue between January and June this year.
Agbara, disclosed that the command had confiscated 197 units of vehicles and 29, 905 (50 kg each)and 15 (25 kg each) bags of foreign rice within the period.
According to him, the command equally seized 1,181 kegs of petrol; 1, 466 kegs of vegetable oil and 17 units of motorcycles.
He added that 143 book size, 21 coconut size and 11 sacks of Cannabis Sativa were confiscated by his operatives in the last six months.
Agbara said that the command’s revenue generation, suppression of smuggling drive, facilitation of trade and protection of the society have yielded huge results within the period, as the command surpassed its target of N3.860 billion with N2.874 billion in excess.

He, however, expressed concern that the anti-smuggling drive has led to some loss of lives and properties during a series of encounter with those he called “daredevil smugglers and accomplices.”

“The seizure of over 29, 905 bags of rice in the first half year of 2019 is indeed a landmark among numerous successes recorded as compared to 15, 976 bags of rice seized during the corresponding period of the year 2018.
However, the above activities were entangled with series of clashes between officers of the command and some dare-devil smugglers/accomplices leading to loss of lives and properties in the process.

“The Command will continue to dialogue, engage, sensitize and educate the public on social, security, health and economic implication of smuggling, while on the other hand, the statutory functions of enforcing compliance with strict adherence to the law will be rigorously sustained,” Agbara said.