Customs intercepts more goods

Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have intercepted 144 cartons of frozen poultry products worth N68.9 million allegedly being smuggled into the country by some criminal gangs through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

Aside the poultry products, the operatives also intercepted 23 bags of guns, military uniforms and 25 packs of drones at the cargo wing of the airport.

The attempt to smuggle in the contraband through the airport might not be unconnected to closure of the nation’s land borders. Meanwhile, the Federal Government has extended the closure to January 31, 2020.

This was disclosed at a joint press conference between the Customs Area Controllers of the MMIA and Murtala Mohammed Area Command (cargo section), Adewale Adeniyi and Lena Oyama respectively.

Meanwhile Customs said contrary to insinuations, the people of the South East now appreciate the essence of the Federal Government’s action in the partial closure of the country’s land borders

The Public Relations

Officer of NCS, Mr. Joseph Attah, who noted this during a stakeholders sensitisation programme at the Federal Operations Command Unit in Owerri, said people hitherto thought, and equally spread the erroneous belief that the measures were targeted at a particular tribe or region.

Attah said the gains of the closure had continued to increase with the recent seizure of 34, 221 bags of rice, 8,982 jerry cans of fuel and 991 drums of fuel about to be illegally exported and the arrest of more than 239 aliens, including 399 vehicles, live cartridges and hard drugs worth N2.5bn.