A total of five hundred and thirteen (513) bags of foreign par boiled rice with a Duty Paid Value DPV of Twenty two million, five hundred and eighty one thousand five hundred Naira have been seized by the Strike Force Zone B, Kwara axis of the Controller General of Customs (CGC) strike force Zone B Kaduna.
The Coordinator of the Service Strike force in charge of Zone” B “for Kaduna and Kwara states axis, Olorukooba Oseni Aliyu stated this while speaking with Newsmen in Ilorin.
According to him, the seizures were made possible due to the resilience, commitment and dedication of men and officers of the service who are at risk of their personal safety.
“We are determined to maintain the offensive against smugglers no matter the level of threat they continuously send our way”, he added.
He said a team of officers dispatched to the area intercepted two Toyota Canter fully loaded with bags of foreign rice.
Aliyu explained that a large quantity of foreign parboiled rice yet to be loaded into vehicles was also intercepted following an intelligent report of the activities of economic saboteurs on Jekunu-Malete and Bani axis of Kwara state.
The Customs boss explained that on sighting the officers, the drivers to the two Canter trucks abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene.
He commended the resilience of the Officers who according to him, ensured that all the intercepted contraband items were evacuated to the Command headquarters despite attacks from smugglers.
The Coordinator assured of the determination of the strike force of the service in ensuring that economic saboteurs are not allowed to operate freely.
Aliyu also urged the general public to support the service in it’s mandate towards making the nation socially, economically and environmentally viable by ensuring compliance to extant government fiscal policies.
He specifically appreciated the efforts of Kwara Area Command FOU, JBPT and Customs police for their support as well as that of the Comptroller General of Customs and his mangament team for their tireless support through effective supervision and provision of necessary logistics.
Emmanuel Ukoh
