The Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘C’ Owerri command of the Nigeria Customs Service, said the recent strengthening of its anti-smuggling operations led to the interception of tramadol and other contraband goods with a duty paid value (DPV) of Ninety Nine Million, Eight Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira, (N99,820,000,00) between April-June 2021.
Within the same period, the command said 5 suspects were arrested in connection to the seizures that include 45 rolls containing 4,500 sachets of 225mg of royal brand of tramadol, 210 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice, and 18 parcels of Indian Hemp.
The rest are 19, 725 sachets of diazepam tablet, 98 bales of used clothing, 220 cartons of foreign tomatoes paste, 12 cartons of foreign Johnson soap, 240 pieces of used tyres, 668 pairs of used shoes, among others mostly intercepted along Okada-Benin/Lagos expressway.
The command leader, Comptroller Yusuf Lawal reiterated that even though smuggling is a global phenomenon that cannot be eradicated entirely, he urged stakeholders to join hands to reduce the menace to its barest minimum.
