The Adamawa/Taraba Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has reported 15 incidents of seizure of different contraband items with cumulative duty paid value of N13, 352,100.
The operations yielding the seizures were carried out from the beginning of last month to date.
The seized items include 16,675 litres of petrol packed in 643×25L Jerry cans and three × 200L drums; 20×50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice; and one used V/Wagon Golf with a big reconstructed fuel tank.
The Adamawa/Taraba Area Controller of the NCS, Salisu Kazaure Abdullahi, who addressed newsmen on the seizures, said smuggling of fuel products from the country has persisted despite fuel subsidy removal.
“This is as a result of high fuel demand and high prices in neighbouring countries like Cameroon, Togo, and Benin Republic,” the area Customs controller explained.
He said the fuel smuggling syndicates are stubborn and have extensive resources and that because they make so much money from smuggling the product out of the country, they work to maintain the illicit business at all costs.
He assured however that the NCS is continually reviewing its strategies and cracking down on the smugglers.
“We want to unequivocally tell the smugglers that the more they change tactics, the more we change our own and the truth will always prevail over falsehood,” he said.
