The Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) Strike Force, Zone A, has arrested four suspects in connection with N7.4 billion smuggled items seized in Southwest.
Coordinator of the CGC Strike Force, Mohammed Yusuf disclosed this yesterday, while reeling out the half-year report of the service in Lagos.
He said the team led the anti-smuggling battle with enhanced 24-hour, round the clock patrols, which led to seizures of the smuggled items.
According to him, the seized items include: 13 trucks of foreign parboiled rice of 50kg each; 40ft container of tramadol; Sildenafil citrate and 1613 bottles of 100ml codeine; 1079 bales of secondhand clothing; 3,695 pieces of used tyres; 966 slabs of donkey skin; 77,760 pairs of new ladies shoes; 5,250 pairs of used shoes and 197 logs of wood.
Yusuf said the operational capacity of the team, which received a big boost with additional new Toyota Hilux vehicles from the Comptroller-General of Customs, provided support for suppressing smuggling, preventing revenue loss, protection of environmental degradation, unlawful wildlife poaching and in all, protection of national economy.
He also added that the team recovered N3.1 billion through issuance of demand notices, which was done sequel to the discoveries of short payment of duties within the period of six months, which represents 73 per cent revenue increase from the N1.8 billion collected within the same period in 2021.
He said this amount would have been lost, but for the team’s vigilance and uncompromising disposition in the discharge of their duties.
“Specifically speaking, importing what we can produce threatens our economy; unlawful felling of trees degrades the environment and promotes deforestation, while illegal killing of wildlife creatures and endangered species like pangolin and donkeys for their scales and skins respectively, could lead to these animals’ extinction.
“With these and other tasks under our purview, we shall be resolute and unrelenting to arrest perpetrators, seize prohibited items from them or their accomplices, and promote lawful trade using the legal instrument of the extant Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) CAP 45LFN,” he stated.
