Customs FOU Owerri hits smugglers; seize 12 cars, 881 bags of rice with DPV at N385m
The new Area Controller of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘C’ Owerri, Comptroller Olusemire Kayode has announced the seizures of twelve vehicles and 881 bags of rice, all with duty paid value (DPV) of more than N385 million.
Addressing newsmen at the Command head office, Owerri, he said his leadership will track smugglers to their knees and make sure that government revenues are recovered.
Explain more while showcasing seizures made by officers on the Benin axis, said the seizures were as a result of the hard work and diligence of officers of the Unit.
Among the luxury cars, three among which are bulletproof. He revealed that the vehicles on interception did not have documentation and the appropriate permit from the National Security Adviser for importation of the bulletproof vehicles hence their arrest.
Compt. Kayode who advised importers of such cars to pay the appropriate duties & shun duty evasion, stressed that “Most of these vehicles are worth millions of naira. If they can afford to buy these vehicles they should not evade paying the duty”.
He reassured that the Unit’s anti-smuggling operations will not go down under his watch and the antics of smugglers will be thwarted in the zone. He also urged importers to acquaint themselves with extant laws governing trade in the country to avoid running afoul of the law.
The Customs boss disclosed further that the seized bags of rice were concealed underneath heaps of banana in a truck, but acting on a tip off, the officers checked the vehicle and discovered the infraction.
The new boss used the occasion to sound a note of warning to smugglers and urged Nigerians to support the local agricultural industry and buy locally produced rice. He further stated that the ban of rice importation through land borders was still in force and urged the public to boost the agriculture sector and the economic well being of the country by patronising locally produced goods.
According to him, with inter-agency cooperation, the support of the media and the public, the Comptroller stressed that smuggling will be brought to a bare minimum.
A breakdown of the latest seizures stands as below:
Range Rover Autobiography 2014 model with duty paid value of N76,423,500
Toyota Land Cruiser Bullet proof 2016 model with duty paid value of N40,105,545
Toyota Land cruiser Bullet proof 2014 model with duty paid value of N33,145,079
Mercedes Benz G-wagon bullet proof 2017 model with duty paid value of N68,554,565
Mercedes Benz GLE 450 2016 model with duty paid value of N26,032,239
Toyota Rav 4 2014 model with duty paid value of N9,728,505
Toyota Highlander 2017 model with duty paid value of N19,590,110
Toyota Hilux 2017 model with duty paid value of N15,413,996
Lexus ES350 2008 model with duty paid value of N4,510,391
Toyota Corolla 2014 model with duty paid value of N7,229,250
Ford Edge 2015 model with duty paid value of N16,835,891
741 Bags of 50Kg foreign rice with duty paid value of N18,969,600
Ford Transit Bus carrying 100 Bags of 50Kg foreign rice with total DPV of N4,060,000
Ford Transit Bus carrying 40 Bags of 50Kg foreign rice with total DPV of N2,524,000.
