Customs impounds 147 sacks of Indian hemp, other items

The Nigeria Customs Service  Federal Operations Unit, Zone  F’ has intercepted different items valued at N783m within three weeks.

Mohammed Garba Uba, the comptroller of the zone made this while taking journalists round their warehouses where the seized items were kept.

Garba, gave the details of the seizure as 1,237 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice, 858 cartons of rechargeable inverter battery rock,1,104 cartons of medicament of different types, 308 pieces of used truck tyres, 27 units of assorted vehicles, 137 bales of secondhand clothing and lace materials, 147 sacks of 10kg each and 120 parcels of 1kg each.

He said that the unit also impounded three containers with items worth N303.2m, due to what he called false declaration and the unit recovered N252.1m from duty payments and demand notices on general goods from importers who allegedly tried to outsmart officers at seaports, airports and border stations through wrong classification, transfer of value and short-change in duty payments meant for the Federal Government.

He further stated that the seizures made it a cumulative amount of N783. 6m within the three weeks under review.

Garba added that 16 persons had been arrested in connection with the seizures while the pharmaceutical drugs and Indian hemp had been handed over to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) respectively.

A Deputy Director, National Agency For Food and Drug Administration and Control, Mr Francis Ononiwu,  explained that the agency expresses concern over every product brought into the country and make sure it met standard policy of Nigeria.

According to the Director, he urged all agencies to join hands to rid off counterfeited product in Nigeria.

The Principal Staff Officer, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, petroleums, Mr Lawal Opeleyeru, while receiving over 150 bags of Indian hemp, disclosed the efforts so far made by the command in curtailing the activities of illicit drug consumption.