The Nigeria Customs Services (NCS), the Western Marine Command (WMC), has thwarted smuggling activities and intercepted contrabands worth over N900 million from August to October.

The area controller, Odaudu Salefu, said this in a statement by the public relations officer, superintendent of customs, Mailafiya Magaji, on Friday in Lagos.

“In accordance with its primary mandate outlined in section 4 of the NCS Act 2023, the WMC executed rigorous border enforcement and regulatory activities, resulting in the arrest and seizure of significant illegal goods,” Mr Salefu said.

He said officers and men of the WMC confiscated 17 sacks containing 1,199 loaves of cannabis sativa, totalling 663.5kg, in September and October.

“These arrests were conducted along the Moba waterways and Sanki Beach axis on August 31 and October 4.

“The WMC also apprehended 66,000 capsules of 225mg Tramadol and 1,257 sacks of foreign parboiled rice, collectively exceeding a duty paid value of N50 million.

“In a related incident, the command seized 3,750 litres of premium motor spirit during two separate arrests on October 27,” he said.

He added that in August 2023, the WMC seized 103 sacks containing 8,240 loaves of cannabis sativa, which was handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on September 7.

The customs official noted that the cumulative value of the 10 seizures conducted by the WMC from August to October amounted to N923,794,000.

Mr Salefu urged the general public to respect and adhere to government fiscal policies, prohibitions, and restrictions.

“These measures are in place to safeguard national security, foster economic growth, and contribute to the overall progress of Nigeria,” he said. 

(NAN)