The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Federal Operations Unit Zone C has made a significant dent in the smuggling business, intercepting contraband worth a whopping N510.92 million between July 15th and September 15th, 2024.
This impressive haul was achieved under the watchful eye of Comptroller Michael Ugbagu, who oversees the six states in the South-South and five states in the South-East zone.
The seized goods were showcased to regulatory agencies at the Government Warehouse in Edo, with Ugbagu revealing that the zone also recovered N25.57 million from demand notices issued due to infractions. This brings the total value of goods seized and revenue recovered to a staggering N536.49 million.
“The DPV was derived from our seized goods, which include 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without an NAFDAC number.
“1,015 sacks of dry donkey meat and skin, 75 jumbo bales of second-hand clothing, 463 cartons of foreign spaghetti, 269 pieces of used pneumatic tires, and 56 cartons of smuggled foreign tomato paste.
“More worrisome is the interception of 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without NAFDAC registration numbers,” he said
This isn’t the first time the NCS Zone C has made headlines for its anti-smuggling efforts. In 2023, the unit recovered N5.5 billion from smugglers and fraudulent importers, with contraband worth over N5.35 billion intercepted.
Ugbagu revealed that the Nigeria Customs Service Zone C intercepted the contraband worth N510.92 million primarily along the Ewu-Okada/Benin expressways, thanks to credible intelligence gathering efforts.
