In its anti-smuggling campaign, the Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘D’ Bauchi of the Nigeria Customs Service has stopped the unlawful shipment of 2,209 jerrycans of Premium Motor Spirit (25 liters each), 149 drums of PMS (250 liters each), and 49 jerrycans of Automotive Gas Oil (25 litres each). sixty-three thousand, seven hundred (63,700) liters of petroleum products in total.
This information was provided on Thursday at a news conference with the media at the Unit Headquarters in Bauchi by the Customs Comptroller in charge of the Unit, Comptroller Musa Ibrahim Jalo.
Comptroller Jalo criticized the unpatriotic behavior of the petroleum product traffickers for damaging the economy and potentially exacerbating the product’s current scarcity in Nigeria.
According to him “Smuggling has negative environmental, social, and economic effects that have a significant influence on our economy, but some unscrupulous elements enjoy deflating the economy in this way. It maintains a culture of lawlessness and reduces government revenue obtained through tariffs. The Nigeria Customs FOU Zone “D” is the best in the business. We won’t allow the growth of this illicit trade.”
Similarly, agents of the FOU Zone “D” seized four sacks of pangolin scales totalling 165kg in accordance with the strategic role of Customs in enforcing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES).
In accordance with Schedule 4 of the CET, which places the aforementioned items on an absolute restriction for health and safety reasons, he also claimed that 2,326 pieces of used tires, 441, bales of used clothing, and 27, bags of used clothing were seized.
The Comptroller encouraged Nigerians to stop wearing second-hand clothing, which is hazardous to the skin and can lead to various skin-related ailments, and used and old tires, which can cause vehicle loss of control and lower grip, especially in wet circumstances and may cause traffic accidents.
Three thousand, four hundred and eighty-seven (3487) sacks of fertilizer were among the other seizures. It is restricted due to security precautions put in place by the federal government to prevent insurgents from using it to make explosives.
In addition, the unit seized seventeen (17) vehicles used as means of transportation, five (5) units of used imported vehicles, six hundred and seventy-five (675) bags of foreign parboiled rice (50 kg each), twenty-two (252), cartons of foreign soap, two hundred and fifty (250), cartons of foreign spaghetti, forty-two (42) pieces of alloy rims, and more during the period under review.
He said that the total Duty Paid Value of all the products confiscated was 468,341,430 naira (468,341,430).
Finally, he made an appeal to patriotic citizens on the necessity of giving the service accurate information in order to stop the threat posed by daredevil smugglers who are determined to wreck the economy of this Great Nation.
