Customs seizes 11,950 litres of PMS in Kebbi

Nigeria Customs Service (NIS), Kebbi State Command, has seized 478 jerry cans containing 11,950 litres of smuggled Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) being transported out of the country through Yauri waterway.

The command’s spokesman, Nasiru Manga, stated, yesterday, that the seizure was done based on the efforts of anti-smuggling operatives of NIS in Kebbi.

“The anti-smuggling operatives have continued to give petroleum smugglers a tough time, as the command’s anti-bunkering team seized another 478 jerry cans of 25 litres each (11,950 litres) of PMS intended to be smuggled out of the country through Yauri on Thursday, August 11, 2022,” he said.

Based on a tip-off, Manga added, intelligence operatives monitored the movement of loaded jerry cans of PMS to a spot near the waterway for some days before the deployment of the anti-bunkering squad, who intercepted and evacuated the 11,950 litres of PMS to the command’s headquarters in Birnin Kebbi.

The Area Controller, Joseph Attah, lauded the fruitful collaboration of relevant units under the command, stressing the need for security agencies to share information, work together and achieve results in the interest of the nation.

“Together, we are stronger,” he said.

Attah restated the command’s resolve to strictly monitor the waterways under the command against the smuggling of PMS, rice, used clothes and other items that could compromise national security and the economy, calling on the border communities to provide relevant information that can help curtail smuggling in Kebbi.

The renewed offensive on smugglers in the last two weeks has seen the command making seizures of PMS, used clothes, used vehicles, and foreign fertilisers among others.