Seme Customs nets N1.2billion Jan-March
Confiscates 8 trailers of rice, 23 vehicles
The Seme Command of the Nigeria Customs Service generated the sum of One Billion, Two Hundred and Sixty Million, Six Hundred and Eight Four Thousand, Two Hundred and Twenty Six Naira, Ninety One Kobo, (N1, 260,684,226.91) as revenue between January and March 20, 2019.
Similarly, the command’s anti-smuggling operations believed to have significantly been intensified leading to reduction in smuggling activities nevertheless, fetched assortments of seizures valued at N214, 366, 151. 00; bringing the cumulative revenue generated to N1, 475,050, 377. 91.
This is even as Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Mohammed Garba Uba has raised the alarm about yet other criminal device by smugglers to alter original vehicle chassis numbering through superimposition of fake chassis numbers. Uba said the Customs as always has discovered this trend and countering the counterfeit chassis numberings through effective monitoring and arrest.
Uba said the service will strive to continually remain a step ahead of the unscrupulous smuggling underworld, vowing that government will not relent on efforts at strengthening the economy through appropriate policy instruments and programmes such as the ongoing backward integration programme to grow local rice capacity not only to meet its self sufficiency plan but to export the expected surplus.
Uba who addressed news men at Seme yesterday gave the breakdown of the seizures to include a total of 17 fairly used autos and 6 vehicles used as means of conveyance, with a Duty Paid Value of N87, 595, 702. Notable amongst the arrested smuggled autos is a Toyota Highlander (2013 model), Hyundai Azera Limited (2016 model), Toyota Corolla (2015 model) and a Volvo FL7 285 Truck, amongst others.
The seizures according to Uba includes 4745 bags of 50kg foreign rice, which is equivalent of 8 trailers, with a Duty Paid Value of N85, 504, 000; 95 x6 Yards of New Textiles Materials, with DPV of N1, 026, 000; 220×6 Yards of Ankara Materials, N1, 782, 000; 180 sacks of Scrap Metals, N8, 505, 000 and 19 boxes of Frozen Seafood’s at N192, 375.000.
The Seme customs boss disclosed that five suspects were arrested in connection with some of the seizures, further alerting that smugglers have deviced a means of superimposing fake chassis number on the authentic factory chassis number, and urged buyers to be wary of buying vehicles with suspicious authentication.