Substances described as ‘Loud Weed’, suspected to be Cannabis Sativa and weighing 5,124, valued at N439,110,000 with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N516,600,000 has been seized by the Strike Force Team ‘A’ of the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) the Nigeria Customs Service.
In addition, various other smuggled goods with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N9,122,710,355:00 were also seized from the die-hard smugglers and economic saboteurs.
The team leader Comptroller Sani Yusuf made the disclosure at a briefing in Lagos.
Giving a breakdown of the seizure, Yusuf disclosed that the seized items include 225mg of Tramadol, 100mg of Sildenafil Citrate, Codeine cough syrup, used tyres, bales of second-hand clothing, bags of foreign parboiled rice, containers of Timber, Pangolin scales and slabs of donkey skin.
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He said the briefing was designed to showcase the activities as an intervention team in the Customs clearing process, saddled with an anti-smuggling function.
“This briefing is to share with members of the public our achievements since we resumed duty, and to reiterate our warning of zero tolerance to smugglers and duty evaders.”
He said the seizures of the smuggled items became imperative as it was aimed at discouraging the business of smuggling which is capable of destroying the national economy, and having an adverse effect on the living standards, adding that the illicit business mainly favours only a selfish few who do not mean well for the country.
Comptroller Yusuf also disclosed that N5,843,520,477 was generated as revenue through Demand Notices (DN) from January to December 2022.
He said there was an increase of N1.928 billion as against the sum of N3.914 billion generated in the year 2021, representing a 55 per cent increment when compared to 2021.
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“Let me once again sound this as a warning to all unpatriotic importers and their agents who go the extra mile in daring us.
“We shall not only make seizures, but our ever-vigilant operatives will also get them arrested to face the full wrath of the law.
“For this year, we have already reinvigorated our round-the-clock operations, relying on our gallant and intelligent officers to suppress smuggling and prevent revenue loss, because our commitment to doing better in 2023 and beyond is hereby renewed.”
He thanked the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd), for assisting the team to achieve its goals through his logistics support.
“I also appreciate my officers who have been working tirelessly to ensure that our mandate is achieved.”
