File: Nigerian Customs personnel

The Nigeria Customs Service ( NCS), Niger and Kogi Area command, has seized imported rice, vehicles and and second hand bale clothing with duty paid value of about N145 million in the third quarter of 2019.

The Comptroller in charge of the command, Yusuf Abba- Kassim, announced this while displaying the seized items before newsmen in Minna on Thursday.

Abba-Kassim said a total of 3,529 kilogrammes of imported bags of rice with duty paid value of over N62 million were seized by officers and men in different parts of the area command .

According to him, 29 used vehicle’s with duty paid value of over N32 million were also seized under the command’s new anti-smuggling strategies which he said had been yielding positive results.

He said that 1, 018 bales of second hand clothing with duty paid value of over N48 million were seized within the command’s area of coverage.

The comptroller said the command had also arrested one DAF diesel tanker with registration number RBC 05 ZS suspected to be concealing 500 bags of foreign rice on the Abuja-Kaduna expressway.

He described smugglers as economic saboteurs and advised them to desist from such act.

He said the command was committed to the eradication of all forms of smuggling activities within its area of jurisdiction.