Customs seize contraband goods in Jigawa

The Nigeria Customs Service has seized contraband goods worth millions of naira in Birnin Kudu Local Government Area of Jigawa

State, the Comptroller of Kano/Jigawa Command, Yusuf Abba Kassim, has said.

Addressing pressmen on the seizure, Kassim said the goods comprised 619 of 25-litre jerry cans of vegetable oil, 139 cartons of Turkey oil, 242 bags of mosquito coil, 24 cartons of cigarettes; 100 cartons of spaghetti, five cartons of macaroni and three cartons of Tuak lighter.

Kassim explained that no arrest was made by the service during the seizure, as according to him, both the driver and conductor abandoned the vehicle and ran away when the personnel of the service stopped them along KanoBirnin Kudu highway.

He said the seizure was based on a tip-off by some informants who had been assisting the command in the fight against smuggling of banned goods in the two states.

“We have prior information about the goods and that is why we succeeded in impounding the goods. The smugglers have been changing tactics but we will not relent in our effort to pursue them, seize the contraband goods and if arrested charge them to court for violating the laws of the land,” he said.

He charged officers and men of the service to double their efforts in the ongoing fight against smuggling of contraband goods into the country through land borders.

He also called on the general public to continue assisting the service, saying the fight against smuggling was everybody’s responsibility.

“Every right thinking Nigerian would not want to support smuggling of contraband goods into the country. Rather, we should promote locally made goods to boost our economy and support our local industries to survive,” he said.