The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Katsina Area Command, says it intercepted smuggled 338 jerrycans of PMS worth N1.4 million and other contraband worth N69.6 million in January, 2022.
The Area Controller, DC Dalha Wada-Chedi, disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday in Katsina, in a briefing on the command’s monthly activities.
He said some of the items intercepted included 10 vehicles worth N24.2 million, 629 bags of rice worth N15.9 million, 826 cartons of spaghetti worth N4.96 million, 110 jerry cans of 25-litres vegetable oil worth N2.8 million.
“We also seized 96 cartons of foreign milky worth N2.02 million, 46 cartons of foreign Ginny Milk worth N1.012 million, 79 cartons of foreign macaroni worth N474,000.00, 15 pieces of super cereal corn-soya blend worth N47,250.
“Others were 338 jerry cans of PMS worth N1.4 million, 50 bales of second hand clothing worth N7.2 million, 8 bales of new blankets worth N4.8 million and 235 pieces of foreign jack knives worth N775,500,” he said.
Wada-Chedi said that the quantity of rice smuggled into the country in January, indicated that much still needed to be done to tackle the activities of smugglers in the State.
“The monthly consultative forum we have is aimed at sensitising the public first on customs anti-smuggling activities.
”We wish it would serve as a deterrent to the smugglers and to those who are planning to venture into it,” he said.
Wada-Chedi called on the public to desist from smuggling, noting that there were several viable alternative ventures and incentives provided by the government that would make people in the state to thrive without engaging in illegal activities.
Wada-Chedi said that the seized items would be taken to court, and that from there it would be condemned, after which we would wait for orders to auction them or send them to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
While lamenting the activities of smugglers in the State, he said that the goods worth about N70 million which could have been saved had now gone to waste.
”What is the gain? The smugglers always end up losing. But, they will still go back, loan money somewhere or even sell their properties and come back to smuggling, still we will catch them and they will lose everything.
“Because no matter how tricky a smuggler is, we will surely get at them, since we have been provided with all that we need to operate properly,” he said. (NAN)
