Customs: Joint Border Patrol Team Seize N302m Worth Items In North Central
The Joint Border Patrol Team (JBPT) of the Nigeria Customs Service in North Central zone has seized items worth N302.5million between December 2022 and January 2023.
The coordinator of the team, which covers Niger, Kwara, Kogi and Benue States, Acting Assistant Comptroller of Customs, Olugbenga Peter, disclosed this while briefing journalists on the achievement of the team under the period in review on Monday in Ilorin, the command headquarters.
In his words “Our operatives deployed to Suleja axis of Niger State, while on routine patrol intercepted a Toyota land cruiser SUV with registration number KUJ 570 MB from Abuja heading to Kaduna.
“The operatives requested for the vehicle customs documents from the occupants. The two occupants who could not produce any document disembarked from the vehicle, pretending to be making a call to the owner and suddenly took to their heels and ran into the bush and abandoned the vehicle.
“While conducting search on the vehicle, the operatives found a complimentary card bearing details of a National Assembly member. The said Honourable member was subsequently contacted and officers were confronted with shocking news that the vehicle in question was snatched few hours earlier from his driver at gunpoint around Gwarimpa axis of Abuja.
“I want to assure you that once the Customs duty of the said vehicle is produced by the owner and confirmed to be genuine, the sector will hand over the vehicle to Nigeria Police Force for further investigations and theft clarification.”
He further stated that the Taskforce in the last four months, made 187 seizures, saying “during the period under review, Sector 3 has intercepted a total of three stolen vehicles, Namely; Lexus RX 350 without number plate sized around Benue axis, Toyota Yaris with Registration Number BEN-59-EZ apprehended around Lokoja Axis of the Sector.
“It is worthy of note that Sector 3 during the period, successfully recorded 187 seizures valuing N302.6 million.”
Below is the breakdown of the seized goods:
2,052 Bags of Foreign Parboiled Rice (50 kg each) an average of 4 trailer load
4,598 liters of PMS (Petrol)
40 drums of 800 liters of Diesel
28 units of used Vehicles
16 units of Motorcycle (Means of Conveyance)
11 kegs of Vegetable oil (25 liters each)
102 bales of Secondhand clothing
19 Sacks of 2166 Pairs of Used Shoes
427 Wraps of Cannabis sativa
4 packet of Tramadol (200 pieces each) of 120mg
90 Pieces of Used tyres
39 cartons tomato paste
According to him, However, in line with the extant laws, most of the inflammable products have been auctioned to the public with the amount generated as fees remitted to government coffers.
He however disclosed that the sector lost one of its officers to an unwarranted attack by yet-to-be identified persons.
“On a sad note, on Friday 21st October 2022, the Sector 3 operatives on information patrol were attacked by a group of hoodlums who laid ambush and pelted them with stones, bottles, cutlasses, sticks, charms, guns and other dangerous items at Igboho town of Orelope local government of Oyo state when officers were coming to headquarters with the seized rice and PMS at Sinau-Kenu Road in Baruten LGA of Kwara. One of our officers, ASCI Saheed Aweda, succumbed to the cold hands of death while three officers sustained life threatening injuries and later recovered after a long stay at hospital.” The Coordinator explained.
Olugbenga Peter who has been elevated to position of Assistant Comptroller General of Customs (ACG) thanked journalists for their unalloying support during his stay as Coordinator in North Central zone.
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