SEIZURE GALORE BY JBPT AS SHUAIBU’S MEN INTERCEPT N1.3 BILLION GOODS IN 2 MONTHS
By: Timothy Paul Okorocha
The Joint Border Patrol Team has continued to shock dare-devil economic saboteurs who think they can smuggle prohibited items unhindered within the south west zone.
Its Co-ordinator, Deputy Comptroller MS Shuaibu told newsmen in Lagos today that a mouth-watering seizure valued at N1,381,030,400 has been recorded by his team between July and August.
He noted also that the sector recovered more than N26,131,260 as revenue through the issuance of Debit Notes (DN) on vehicles and other goods which their import duties were underpaid.
‘The Joint Border Patrol Team is not relenting in its efforts of combating smuggling activities and illegal migrants that are undermining our national security, he deposed.
The goods intercepted in this period under consideration include 4,019 Jerrycans of 30 liters premium motor spirit, 2,633 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice, 868 jumbo bales,154 blocks of cannabis sativa, and 790 pieces of codeine.
Others are 135 sacks of used footwears, 77 sacks of ginger, 15 units of fairly used cars,5 means of conveyance, 4 trucks as well as motorcycles. Two suspects are already helping the team with relevant ongoing investigations.
Shuaibu stated that while the federal government is committed to ensuring the availability of premium motor spirit to the citizenry, it is disheartening to know that some notorious smugglers are bent on smuggling the products to the neighboring countries for their selfish gain.
According to him, these groups of unpatriotic citizens will have to contend with his team as the sector has deployed intelligence to apprehend such offenders.
The Co-ordinator stressed that the sector is fully prepared to face the challenges ahead ‘as we are into the last quarter of the year, we are enhancing our collaboration and the use of intelligence to confront with the possibility of more desperation from the smugglers’
He warned the smugglers to shun the ugly trade and avoid being lured into crimes with the aim to making easy wealth.
He called on traditional rulers, religious bodies and youth leaders to sensitize their subjects against smuggling activities which he noted destroys the nation’s economy, undermines the nation’s security and transfer employment to other nations.
Shuaibu pointed out that the exercise has achieved tremendous success going by the number of interceptions of prohibited items, channeling of procedures, generating revenue through additional payments and auction sales with the proceeds remitted into the federation account.
He also revealed that so many immigrants were arrested. He added that the operation in the south west zone remains a tedious exercise, owing to the rigorous terrain and the hostile nature characterized with border communities.
Shuaibu expressed profound gratitude to the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, and his management team ‘making these achievements possible by supporting with the needed logistics.