The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Western Marine Command (WMC) on Thursday said that the command intercepted 32 sacks of Cannabis Sativa with a street value of N168 million naira.
The Controller of the command, Comptroller Abubakar Umar made this known during his maiden media conference to showcase the commands activities from February to May in Lagos.
According to Umar, the operatives of the command while on credible intelligence intercepted the item on March 30 at about 03.30 hours on a boat at Oko-Aja beach.
He added that the goods were brought to the WMC and upon physical examination and counting found out 32 sacks, that is 2,520 pieces of cannabis sativa weighing a total of 1,437kg.
“Since my assumption of duty in the command as the area controller on Feb. 21, I have together with my officers/men ensured that no stone is left unturned at achieving my mandate and that of the command.
“This is to ensure that smuggling activities is nipped in the bud along the South Western Waterways and creeks, which is the jurisdiction of the Command.
“This is a case of absolute prohibition and contravenes Section 24(b) of CEMA Cap C45 LFN 2004 as amended,” he said.
He said that with the approval of the Comptroller General of Customs, the seized cannabis sativa would be handed over to the Commander, Marine Unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
He pointed out that it was part of the existing inter-agency collaboration between the NCS and the NDLEA.
Umar said that on April 7 at about 19.30hrs; their operatives along Badagry waterways intercepted and seized one wooden boat laden with foreign parboiled rice suspected to be smuggled from Benin Republic.
“The smuggled foreign rice and its means of conveyance were brought to the command for examination. On physical examination it was found to be 503 bags of foreign parboiled rice.
“In a related development, on May 25, at about 19.00hrs, the command also intercepted and arrested 2 wooden boats laden with foreign parboiled rice at Oniru Beach.
“The boats and the smuggled foreign rice were counted and found to be 136 bags of foreign parboiled rice,” he said.
The controller said that for the period under review, 828 bags of smuggled parboiled rice from Benin Republic with a Duty Paid Value of N29, 684,000 was seized by the operative of the command.
He noted that similarly, the operatives of the command have at different locations in Idiroko, Badagry, Bar-Beach and Sea side intercepted different smuggled items which contravene Section 46(c), 167 and 169 of CEMA Cap C45 LFN 2004 as amended.
He listed the seized items as: foreign parboiled rice concealed in 35 Jerry cans of vegetable oil; 30 kegs of premium motor spirit (PMS) 8 Kegs of vegetable oil; 8 packs of spaghetti noodles.
Others listed are 250 sachets of pepper onion tomato, 71 pairs of second hand shoes; 10 sacks of second hand clothings, 4 boats and 2 engines as means conveyance, all with DPV of N190, 145,500.
He added that due to the nature of the seized item, PMS, the command on the approval of the headquarters auctioned the product and the amount generated as fees had been remitted to the federation accounts.
He said that the action of their operatives was in line with the Provisions of Section 149 (Powers to search vehicles/ships and Section 158 (Power to Patrol Freely) of Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) Cap C45 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 as amended.
He said that unfortunately, no arrest was made in connection with these seizures as the smugglers dived into the waters while some took to their heels on sighting the patrol officers/men.
The controller said that the seizures were made possible due to the commitment of officers, effective use of Intelligence, information gathering, surveillance operations, Inter-Agency Collaboration and intensive patrol of the creeks/waterways.
“Despite successes, we are however poised to strengthening the existing collaboration between the command and other sister agencies to achieve greater efficiency and curb the menace of smuggling along the South Western waterways and creeks.
“Smugglers and would-be smugglers are urged to abandon their unlawful trade as the command will soon catch up with them and their illegal wares, with a view to arresting and prosecuting them.
“It is better for them to turn a new leaf and embrace legitimate trade, so that they can also contribute their quota to the Gross Domestic Product of the Nigerian economy.
