Cars smuggle live cartridges hidden in cassava flour, intercepted at Igbo-Ora en route from Benin

The Special Assignment Team of Federal Operations Unit, Zone A, Nigeria Customs Service, has intercepted three Mazda saloon cars loaded with live cartridges concealed in sacks of cassava flour.

The Acting Comptroller in Charge of the Unit, DC Hussein Ejibunu, made this known on Monday in a statement signed by Mr Theophilus Duniya, the Public Relations Officer of the zone.

Ejibunu said that the seizures were made while officers of the zone were on patrol on Sunday at about 10.00 p.m. along Igboora axis of Oyo State.

Bootleggers from Nigeria ply the axis to run their trip to Benin Republic.

According to the statement, the drivers abandoned their vehicles on sighting the team’s official vehicle.

“The items discovered during physical examination in the office include 751 pieces of AAA, 70mm live Lion cartridges, sacks of cassava flour and sacks of parboiled rice.

“However, the vehicles, including their contents, have been deposited at the unit headquarters for further investigation,” he said.

Ejibunu called on all patriotic citizens to provide useful and timely information that would help in combating smuggling.

He said: “Smuggling is the mother of all crimes, hence the need to team up and fight it to the barest minimum.

“It is an act of sabotage that should not be allowed to fester for a long time, most especially with the security challenges in the country.

“Information is key and germane towards the fight against this cankerworm called smuggling.”