The Nigerian Customs Service, Port Harcourt Area Command II, intercepted three containers containing hundred bags of rice which was falsely declared. Comptroller Abubakar Bashir, the Area Comptroller of the Command explain that the Service was able to discover the goods as a result of its resolve to embark on 100 per cent physical examination of every container coming into the country.
Bashir noted that the Importer had earlier declared the containers to contain sewing machines, only for the security outfit to search and discover that it was loaded with rice.
While displaying them to newsmen, he pointed that his Command has made a total of 23 seizures with a duty paid value of N446.3 million and N23.6million on the containers carrying the imported rice.
He warned importers who always result to false declaration of goods to desist, adding that his Command will not let a container go through without thorough checks.
“By insisting on 100 per cent examination of cargo, we have also forestalled the importation of unwholesome and prohibited goods into the country.
“Our stand on this issue is particularly reassuring in light of current events in the country, which led to the seizure of illegally imported arms. Today, no container exits the port gate without 100 per cent physical examination.”
He also laments lacking adequate scanning machines and how its hindering them from detecting contrabands goods.
In a related development, the Ogun Area Command also seized 11 posh cars and bags of rice worth N125 million from suspected smugglers.
Vehicles with duty paid value of N75million and bags of rice worth 2.4million were seized.
Comptroller Sani Magudu, the Area Comptroller of the Command said: ‘’We are fighting the smugglers in the bushes, on the road and in the creeks and any other place they hide rice. We have now discovered their hideout, where they normally hid rice in a small hut in the bush where an elderly man would sit outside and disguise like the owner of the building to mislead our men. We broke into one of such buildings about two days ago and recovered about 250 bags of rice from the building.
‘’We have equally struck at another point where they are now hiding because the roads have become hot for them to operate or transport their illicit goods. We are trying our best, although they are devising new means of smuggling but whatever plans they devise to continue smuggling activities in Ogun Area Command, we have a ‘Plan B’ to contain them. We will continue to get them because we are getting maximum support from other security agencies; both the Brigade Commander of Army in Abeokuta and Commander of 192 Battalion in Owode, Yewa South Local Government Area as well as the Commanding Officer in charge of the army base in Ilaro are giving us helping hands, while the police commissioner, police area commanders and divisional police officers are cooperating with us in the fight against smuggling.’’
Since the Federal Government imposed ban on importation of rice through land in 2016, the NCS has continued to seize and intercepted several smuggled rice across the State.
The seized bags of rice are mostly distributed to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps across the country.
