Joy Anyim
Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service, Seme Command, have intercepted 1,686 parcels of marijuana, concealed under a corpse being conveyed into the country in a Sienna bus, and an Indomie Noodles truck.
According to the Controller, Seme Area Command, Mohammed Uba, who disclosed this recently, the Sienna bus was stopped by Customs operatives on routine stop and search at Owode, when they discovered it was carrying a corpse.
However, the driver, who was in company with one other person, suddenly became unnecessarily agitated, which made the operatives suspect a foul play.
Uba said the customs officers insisted on carrying out a hundred per cent physical examination of the vehicle, which led to the discovery of the parcels of marijuana, just under the corpse.
Speaking on how the Indomie Noodles truck was also intercepted, Uba said the truck was on its way from Ghana, when it was stopped by the anti-smuggling unit of the Seme Command.
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He said: “Looking at how the marijuana was concealed, who would have believed something like that could be found? A corpse that is being brought home for burial; somebody decided to use it to conceal prohibited substance. It is disheartening and very bad.
“About the Indomie Noodles truck, we all know the brand, but someone decided to use the truck to commit atrocity. The marijuana was hidden in such a way that if you just check on the surface, you will think nothing is there, but because we know smugglers can sometimes try to be smart and we are smarter, we do the extra checks and that was how we found the marijuana.”
The controller, who also handed over the seized 1,686 parcels of marijuana, to the officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), gave the street value of the substance as N30 million.
He, therefore, stated that the command would not relent in its anti-smuggling operation, as it is in the best interest of the larger society.
Receiving the seized marijuana, the Area Commander, NDLEA, Seme Border, Udofong Essien, said: “It is quite a unique day, to witness this quantum of seizure by the NCS. In a lay man’s understanding, the Customs is just there to generate revenue, but it goes beyond that. We know that drug is the parent of all crimes. What Customs have done is beyond revenue generation, they are contributing immensely to national security.
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“If you take this away from circulation, many of our youths will be safe from the harmful effect of drugs and most of the crimes that would have been committed after taking these drugs would have been nipped in the bud. That is a clear case of prevention is better than cure.
“Drug abuse is also a public health issue, apart from giving youths the impetus to commit crime, it destroys our youths. It has become obvious that no single agency can do it alone. NDLEA will go further, we will go after those connected with the seizures; we will investigate and charge the suspects to court after which we will destroy the drugs.”
Briefing journalists on the activities of the command in the last three months, the Controller said the command had arrested six suspects in respect of several seizures made within the period.
While giving details on other seizures made by the command, Uba disclosed: “The Officers and men of the command had in various operations taken full advantage of available resources to increase revenue collection, suppression of smuggling, facilitation of legitimate trade and improving community service.
“Similarly, the intensified operation of the enforcement unit has drastically reduced smuggling activities to the barest minimum. Between March and today, 11 exotic vehicles, 8,304 bags of 50kg rice were seized. A truck loaded with 493 bags of expired baby diapers, 2,000 cartons of expired biscuits, 410 sacks of school bags were seized.”
Other seizures made by the command, according to him, included: “Thirty-one 25-litres jerry cans of vegetable oil, thirty-one 50kg bags of sugar, 336 cartons of alcoholic drinks, one and thirty-eight 25 litres of PMS, 1050 yards of textiles,15 sacks of used clothes and 28 cartons medicament.”
The controller further stated that the seizures and revenue generated by the command in the period under review (March to June) amounted to over N2.793 billion.
He, therefore, called on well-meaning Nigerians to be patriotic by giving useful information on smuggling activities in their area.
“The command is determined to detect, arrest and prosecute those who fail to comply with the extant regulations, as their failure will be a cause for regret. I call on patriotic citizens to support the command by reporting any smuggling activity or any relevant information that will assist the command in discharging its statutory obligations,” he stated.