Bullet proof jackets, Jack knives and 20 pieces of pistol pouches were among seizures exhibited by the Federal Operations Unit zone A today which were made in the month of July.
The Controller of the Unit Hussein Kehinde Ejibunu told newsmen that ‘the importation of all forms of bullet proof materials such as vests, ballistic materials and vehicles, as well as accessories for all military armaments as well as hardware such as guns, arms and Ammunition of all kinds, lethal and non lethal requires an end-user certificate’
According to him, an end- user certificate is applied to, and issued by the office of the National security Adviser which loses its validity after one year from the issuance date.
‘Hence anyone importing a controlled item must do so within the validity period of the end-user certificate’
Other seizures recorded in the period under consideration include, 181 (87kg) parcels of indian hemp, 5642 x 50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice ( equivalent to 9 trailer loads), 357 kegs x 5 litres of vegetable oil, 2 used vehicles, 49 cartons of children school shoes as well as one unit of new Honda motorcycle.
Ejibunu disclosed that the seizures under were a reflection of officers’ commitment and no compromise posture in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities, aimed at protecting the national economy and preventing the importation of prohibited and harmful goods.
He said 13 suspects were arrested in connection with some of the seizures and are at different stages of investigation and prosecution
At the briefing, the Controller handed over 3 suspects and the cannabis sativa with a net weight of 7,728 kilograms to officials of the National Drug law enforcement agency, lagos state command for further investigation and prosecution.
The total Duty paid value of the seized goods stood at N462,708,875, while the sum of N66,493,346.41 was recovered as revenue into the federation account through the issuance of Demand Notices on customs duties that were discovered to be underpaid.
‘This success story will not be complete without my expression of gratitude to the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale, MFR whose maiden working visit to the Unit was a morale booster.
I also use this medium to thank him and members of the management team for stocking our logistics for more gainful performance’,he noted.
He emphasised that all the performance index was in recognition of the responsibility bestowed on the Unit to suppress smuggling, block revenue leakages, facilitate legitimate trade, collect revenue and contribute to national security.
While being handed the indian hemp and the suspects, the Deputy Commander of the NDLEA, Mr Bashir Oladosun thanked the FOU A boss for the collaborative efforts that he has sustained between the Customs and the NDLEA, saying the customs has indeed played a mother role in helping his agency in the fight against drug smuggling. He assured that his agency will conduct more investigation and lead a prosecution of the suspects.
