Customs intercepts illicit drugs, contrabands in Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Lagos

Acting Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, yesterday, lamented the continuous smuggling of illicit drugs, rice, Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and other items through the borders, saying it was compromising the nation’s revenue, economy and sabotaging food security.

Adeniyi, who disclosed this during a briefing, displayed some seized items, in the last two weeks, at the warehouse of the Customs Federal Operations Unit, Zone A in Ikeja, Lagos.

He said as part of the NCS dedication to eradicating the menace of illicit drug trafficking, officers of the Federal Operating Unit Zone A, acting on credible intelligence, flagged down a DAF Truck close to Ijebu-Ode Junction.

He said an examination of the truck revealed the concealment of 299 cartons of codeine syrup.

The Comptroller General said these seizures were fallout of NCS uncompromising position to strictly enforce the law and protect the lives of the people.

He said the codeine syrup, which is reportedly being abused by mostly young persons in society, is associated with addiction and, in the long-term, results in anxiety, depression, memory loss, and damage to the liver, kidneys and brain.

Adeniyi said the damaging effects of drugs have led to preventable deaths for consumers taking them outside doctors’ prescriptions.

He said the Service would continue to partner with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other relevant government agencies to curb the spread of the menace and protect the future generation.

According to him, despite the effect of fuel subsidy removal on the economy, smugglers still attempt to smuggle PMS across the border, as 5,600 litres of PMS were intercepted and seized in an attempt to take them out through Oja-odan axis in Ogun State.

He said 4, 252 bags of foreign parboiled rice (50 kg each) were seized at different areas of Ogun state, which include: Dangote/Imashayi, Owode/Ado Odo, Idiroko/Ohumbe and Saki Axis in Oyo State, Okoko Mile 2 Axis in Lagos State and Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State.

Other items seized in the same period include: 291 bales of second-hand clothing, four jumbo sacks of used shoes, 486 cartons of foreign frozen poultry products, 190 pieces of rugs, five units of vehicles, and 170 pieces of used tyres.

Adeniyi said the 340 pieces of used tyres seized within the first two weeks of August, by the unit, were not only limited to the implementation of import prohibition lists, but also a giant stride to mitigate auto crashes caused by smuggled used tyres.

According to him, the tyres were squeezed, compressed and tucked into themselves for ease of concealment, thereby causing them to crack.