…arrests 18 suspects, hunt for sponsors
The Federal Operations Unit, 'Zone C', Owerri of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has impounded various contraband goods worth over N162 million. The confiscation took place between August and September this year, just as the Area Controller, Victor Dimka, disclosed that the unit was on the trail of sponsors of the illegal deal.
Dimka, who disclosed this while displaying the seized items to newsmen in Owerri, the Imo State capital, said that the suspects involved in the nefarious activities had been arraigned before a court, and that the seized items had been sent to the law court for condemnation, gazetting and outright auctioning to interested members of the public.
According to Dimka, the seized exhibits (30 in all) which were confiscated between August 5 and September 17, 2013, included a trailer-load of 11,334, three-litre tins of vegetable oil; 13 vehicles conveying 512 cartons of furniture, 210 bales of second-hand clothing, 45 pieces of used tyres, 1,619 cartons of imported frozen chicken/turkey, 19 sacks of Indian hemp, 816 bags of 50kg rice and 168 bales of printed wax.
The NCS Area Controller, who listed the locations where the items were seized as Calabar, Benin, Agbor, Aba/Eleme and Onitsha, said that in spite of the arraignment of the 18 suspects, his men were on the trail of those who sponsored them and would eventually fish them out for prosecution.
He commended the men of the State Security Service (SSS), the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the police and the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) for the existing synergy between them and his men.
Dimka who warned smugglers to desist from the obnoxious act before the long arm of the law catches up with them, appealed to anybody with useful information on smuggling to contact his office or relevant agencies for necessary action.
Wondering why the illicit business of smuggling has remained unabated despite government's stringent measures to curb the menace, he assured that the NCS had been adequately empowered and trained more than ever, to meet its challenges.
