Oramalugo Impound 5 Lorries of Rice, 898 Parcels of Marijuana In 18 Days

BY FUNMI ALUKO

Lineup of some of the seized rice

Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) fearless, hardboiled anti-smuggling czar and Customs Area Controller (CAC) of Seme Border Command, Comptroller Ben Oramalugo PhD, Thursday, July 24, 2025 displayed a total of 4,119 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice intercepted by operatives of the command in a wave of offensive under three weeks.

Part of the star seizures includes 898 parcels of cannabis sativa, otherwise known in local parlance as marijuana, igbo or wee-wee.

Addressing newsmen around the command’s government warehouse premises, Dr.  Oramalugo said that the seizures were made between July 1 and July 19, 2025 based on intelligence and as part of the command’s anti-smuggling operations.

“If you look around you will notice that we have some star seizures, what l regard as star seizures. It is so because it is the highest seizures l have made since l reported to this command on February 11, 2025.

Oramalugo and representative of NDLEA signing the handover notes

“In the past two weeks, between 1^st July and 19^th July 2025, the operatives of the command acting on credible intelligence successfully intercepted and seized a total of five trucks laden with smuggled rice along the Lagos-Abidjan corridor. It is not only rice, we have other items like used clothing and cannabis sativa in all those trucks, it contains a total of 2800 bags of foreign parboiled rice of 50kg, each; 250 bales of second hand clothing and other items.

“The Duty Paid Value (DPV) of the seized rice and means of conveyance if nine hundred and eighteen million, five hundred thousand, six hundred and twenty six naira (N918,500,626) only”, he said.

Speaking further, Oramalugo said other notable seizure made during the period included 898 parcels of Cannabis Sativa (Marijuana), 1,319 bags of foreign parboiled rice (50kg each), 40 bags of Sugar (50kg each), 64 bags of flour (50kg each), 50 cartons of Ketchup Tomato, 1 boat and engine, 20 bales of second-hand clothing, and 4 bales of used shoes.”

While attributing the successful operation to the vigilance, resilience, and doggedness of the officers and men of the area command, as well as collaborative support from other security agencies, particularly the Nigerian military, Oramalugo disclosed that the “the total value of all seizures during the period under review stands at N1,268,794,474.00.”

The unbendable anti-smuggling chief said the NCS remains concerned about efforts by the federal government to encourage local rice farming aimed at helping to achieve self sufficiency and food security in areas the nation has economic advantage; and would continue to support every actions of the government designed to frustrate smugglers and their counterproductive plans by decisively acting against all forms of smuggling and puncturing holes in their wall chest of funds through seizures.

The Seme Customs boss also reaffirmed the validity of the ban on the importation of rice through land borders by the federal government, aimed at protecting domestic rice farmers and millers, and thereby reducing dependency on imported rice.

“Nigeria is the highest producer of rice in Africa, with an annual output exceeding 8 million metric tonnes, surpassing Egypt and Tanzania put together. Therefore, we will continue to treat rice smugglers as enemy of state and continue to work to support capacity in the local production of rice.”

On export, he said the Command facilitated the movement of 1,837 trucks, equivalent to over 116,723.26MT of made-in-Nigeria goods, with a Free On Board (FOB) value of N22,368,388,976.10, adding: “The National Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) fees stood at N111,841,944.87.”

On revenue generation, Oramalugo said between May and July 2025, the command generated a total revenue of N1,593,676,123.26.

While handing over the seized marijuana to officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Oramalugo said the NCS believe that the NDLEA has the wherewithal to carry out farther investigation including the prosecution of suspects arrested alongside exhibits.

The Commander of the Seme Area Command NDLEA, who received the seized Cannabis Sativa, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to securing the nation, even as he thanked the NCS for its collaboration, support and synergy.