Customs Intercepts Bulletproof Vehicles, Destroy 5,364 Cartons of Smuggled Poultry Products

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has stepped up its campaign against smugglers of prohibited items into the country as it has intercepted contrabands with a duty paid value (DPV) N197, 385, 747.

The prohibited items are high on the Import Prohibition List (IPL) which is prepared by the Federal Ministry of Finance and managed by NCS based on the fiscal policies of the federal government.

The service also made seizures of 42 various contraband just as it arrested 14 persons suspected to be behind the smuggling of the items into the country.

The intercepted items include 5,364 cartons of imported frozen poultry products (chicken, turkey and gizzard) which were deliberately concealed in Mercedes Benz trucks to evade prying eyes of security operatives.

The interception of the contraband and the arrests of the suspected smugglers are coming barely one week after the service recorded a major breakthrough in its onslaught against smugglers of illegally imported goods into the country.

The suspects are said to be helping the authorities with what they know about the smuggling of the items into the country.

These were disclosed yesterday by the NCS, Customs Area Comptroller (CAC), Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone C, Owerri, Imo State, Comptroller Victor David Dimka, while showing the seizures to journalists.

In order to beat men and officers of the zone, Dimka revealed that the prohibited items were concealed with used Jacuzzi bathing tubes, rolls of black polythene nylon bags, and crates of woods lining the walls of the truck.

According to him, the items which were seized on the Benin, Agbor and Bayelsa/Port-Harcourt axis in the early hours of August 13 and 14 have a DPV of N89, 338, 400. In addition, a total of 100 vehicles with fake documents were impounded along Benin expressway, Agbor-Asaba axis and Aba/Owerri highway of which 15 are latest models of vehicles ranging from Toyota Camry (bulletproof cars) 2015 model without end-user certificate, six Land Cruiser Prado, Land Cruiser VXR, Toyota Fortuner, Lexus LX 570 and M/Benz CLS 350, all 2014/2015 model worth N346, 347, 568.