Ogun Customs debunks allegations of porous border; says illegal routes fortified.

The command added that there was never a time arms and ammunition were allowed to be smuggled through the land border

In a statement signed by Deputy Superintendent of Customs (DSC) Hammed Bukoye Oloyede, Public Relations Officer of the command on behalf of the Area Controller, the command said it had fortified the numerous illegal routes through which contrabands were smuggled into the country with aggressive patrols.

The statement stated further that the command had stepped up its anti-smuggling  operations in the State to checkmate the nefarious activities of the enemies of the State.

According to him, a press conference was jointly addressed by one Mr. Familial Simeon Kehinde said to be the Chairman of NANS JCC and one Mr. Ogunrombi Gbemileke said to be National President of NAOSS, and one other and published in a national daily on Thursday.

The CAC said that the lies were not only misleading but were likely to create unnecessary tension in Ogun State and the Country.

Part of the release stated that “The allegation of smuggling activities taking place during the daytime is only in the imagination of the fabricator of that story. The tightened security architecture in the state today by Customs and other Security Agencies will not permit Smuggling of Contrabands and other prohibited item at night time not to talk of during the day.

“It is on record that since the resumption of the present Area Controller (CC Peter Kolo), the record of our achievements in the Command in both areas of revenue generation and anti-smuggling activities are being given out to the Press (media) on monthly basis in order for the public to be informed of our activities.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Command recorded over One Thousand, five hundred seizures of various contrabands and prohibited items ranging from foreign parboiled rice, foreign used vehicles, used shoes and clothing’s, Tomato Paste, Sativa (Marijuana), and petroleum products made for export since the beginning of the year. For instance seizures of Forty-six thousand, four hundred and ninety one (46,491) bags of foreign parboiled rice were made in the Command between the moths of January 2021 to August 2021. About 20 suspects are currently undergoing trial for various Smuggling offenses in the Federal High Court, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

“In as much as the Command does not want to join issues with the so-called students, their sponsors and collaborators we want to advise them to focus and concentrate on their studies and school activities so that they graduate in record time and be better citizen tomorrow instead of offering and allowing themselves to be used as a tools for blackmail of an individual and Government Institution.

The Controller queried the whereabouts of the authors of the report when officers and men of the Service were being daily attacked with AK47 Riffles, locally produced guns, pistols and other dangerous weapons with Charm by dare devil smugglers.

He therefore called on the general public to know that the allegations were baseless, misleading, unfounded and mischievous.