Date: 2019-09-12

Special task force against smuggling at the weekend said that it has intercepted a total number of 600 units of 250-litre drums of petroleum products Chikanda border town in Baruten local government area of Kwara state.

The taskforce said the products were about to be smuggled outside the country.

He also said that a large number of empty drums of petroleum products were seized in the operation.

The taskforce comprises men of the Nigeria Customs Service, Army, Directorate of the State Service (DSS), Police, Immigration, Air force and the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA).

The smuggled items worth billions of naira, were seized in the last one month of operations.

Assistant Comptroller of Customs Service Aminu Dahiru told reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, saying that 659 bags of suspected foreign rice, 32 empty sacks of foreign rice and sealing machine were also seized from a warehouse in Ilorin.

He added that other items intercepted include petroleum products, cars, fairly used clothing, hard drugs and food items were intercepted along Nigeria border towns and market places in Kwara, Niger, and Benue.

He also said that the joint border operation drill, code named, Ex-swift operation, was carried out in four zones of Port Harcourt, Lagos, Ilorin and Katsina, with the aim of guarding Nigeria border lines against smuggling and to ensure industrial growth, promote agriculture and improve national security.

He lamented that the country had become a dumping ground for all imported items, saying that local production and development had suffered.

The assistant comptroller general in charge of enforcement, investigation and inspection at the national headquarters also led the north central zone of the operation, said that smugging had gone for too long in the country, adding that importation of small arms and ammunition had made the country unsecured, while use of second hand clothing had negative health effect in many communicable diseases.

He called on Nigerians to be united against smuggling and cooperate with law enforcement agents in that regard, saying that smuggling is stealing from common wealth of the nation and makes people lazy.