The Ogun 1 Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, on Thursday, said it seized 21 trailer-loads of foreign parboiled rice in the first quarter of 2023, The Punch reports.
The customs also said they intercepted 1,375 wraps of bread and coconut sizes and 107 sacks of cannabis sativa worth over N98 million in different parts of the state.
The controller, Bamidele Makinde, disclosed this during a press briefing he addressed at the NCS headquarters in Abeokuta on Thursday.
Makinde said the seized cannabis sativa has been scheduled to be handed over to the authorities of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency in the state.
Speaking on the seized foreign rice, Makinde said his operatives intercepted 740 pieces of 25kg bags of Chinese rice kept in a warehouse in Sagamu in the state.
The customs controller, however, urged Nigerians to be careful in order not to consume anything that could “hamper their health.”
According to Makinde, the command recorded a total seizure of 181 goods, including 12,610 bags of smuggled rice (50kg and 25kg), which he said was the equivalent of 21 trailer loads.
“It is pertinent to state that from the above total bags of rice, we made a spectacular seizure of 740 bags of Chinese rice of 25kg each, stockpiled in a warehouse in Sagamu axis of Ogun State on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at 10:30 pm.”
The NCS boss stated that 1,1446 cartons of imported cigarettes labelled and addressed in the Chinese language were also impounded within the period under review.
Makinde added that other seizures made in the first three months of this year are: 77,250 litres of petrol; 29 units of used vehicles used in conveying smuggled goods; 29 pieces of artefacts; 73 bales of second-hand clothing; 14 sacks of foreign used shoes; 900 pieces of foreign used tyres; 1,120 frozen poultry products; 240 pieces of body creams and 107 sacks and 1,382 wraps of cannabis sativa.
He also disclosed that the Duty Payable Value of the seized items is N704,482,601, representing a 61 per cent increase compared to the (N432,337,690) DPV of the items seized in the first quarter of 2022.
Makinde explained that the command generated a total sum of N44,857,053.50 as revenue between January and March 2023; consisting of duties collected on merchandise in baggage, auction sales of scrap vehicles and petroleum products.
“In comparison, the above-generated revenue is higher than the sum of N5,512,901.50 collected as revenue in the same period in the year 2022,” he said.
While reiterating that the revenue activities of the command comprise the importation and exportation of legitimate goods under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme and assessment of merchandise in baggage, the Controller maintained that the command is working hard to promote export business in order to shore up the forex earning of the country.
