It has become a very bad season for smugglers within Kano and Jigawa axis as
the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) Strike-Force Team in charge of Zone B on Tuesday in Kano showcased assorted seized contraband items, including second clothings, foreign rice, vegetable oil, used shoes, cars and foreign soap, with duty paid value of about N210 million.
Two notorious smugglers who were arrested during the operations are already in Customs custody and will soon be made to face the wrath of the law.
Addressing journalists at the Kano/Jigawa Customs headquarters, the National Coordinator, Zone B of the CGC Strike Force, Deputy Comptroller Baba Kura Kolobe, said the seizures were made at different times along Kano and Jigawa border axis.
Kolobe explained that the Strike Force made over 44 numbers of seizures within some months, including over 1702 bags of foreign rice, with a duty paid value of N38 million.
Also, over 5,661 jerrycans of foreign vegetable oil with a duty paid value of N75.6 million, 1,285 sacks and 192 cartons of foreign shoes estimated at N47.6 million were intercepted.
Other contraband goods seized include 819 bails of second hand clothes valued at N31.7 million, 19 sacks of used shoes estimated at N1, 225, 925 million, 51 sacks of local beans estimated at N1, 071, 000.
Also impounded by the CGC Strike Force include 827 bags of foreign mosquito coil valued at N5.3 million, 26 units of used vehicles estimated at N11.2 million, seven bags of Basmatic rice valued at N77, 385.
Other seized items include 100 pieces of used tyres valued at N395, 200, 28 cartons of foreign macaroni valued at N108, 360, 825 cartons of foreign soap with a duty paid value of N6 million, two bags of foreign sugar estimated at N26, 400, 180 cartons of foreign spaghetti at the cost of N969, 600.
According to him, the latest closure of the border by the Federal Government has yielded positive results as customs in collaboration with sister security agents have continued to clampdown on smugglers and saboteurs of the nation’s economy.
DC Kolobe also appealed to relevant authorities to provide more warehouses where the seized items would be stocked as both the packing store and open spaces in Kano/Jigawa Customs Command are filled up.
