The Nigeria Customs Service, Strike Force Team A, Lagos, has seized 1, 613 cartons of codeine cough syrup (100ml per bottle), 132 cartons of 200mg Sildenafil Citrate and 40 cartons of tramadol worth N6.6 billion, in its anti-smuggling activities for eight weeks.
Coordinator of Team, Deputy Controller, Mohammed Yusuf, while displaying the seized items to newsmen in Ikeja, yesterday, said the Federal Government through the Ministry of Health, had banned the production and importation of Codeine because of its gross abuse.
He said the abuse of drugs is substantially responsible for social vices and criminalities in society, hence, the call on citizens to support the fight against smuggling of any kind.
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Other seizures made during the period include; 1, 030 slabs of donkey skin, 387kg of Cannabis sativa, 285 bales of used clothes, 4, 000 bags of foreign parboiled rice (an equivalent of about seven truckloads), five cartons of Chilly Cutter, 1, 080 pairs of ladies shoes, 110 cartons of ladies bags and 115 cartons of ladies gel among other items.
Yusuf noted that the quest to smuggle foreign parboiled rice into the country has been on the increase, despite desperate efforts by the Federal Government to encourage local production.
He said the attendant effects of smuggling foreign rice into the country include, but are not limited to, an increase in the rate of unemployment, draining of the nation’s foreign exchange and health hazards, among others.
He noted that the continuous extermination of wildlife, in this case, donkey skin; has a negative impact on the biodiversity in the ecosystem.
He warned that the consistent elimination of donkeys will eventually lead to the extinction of the species, which will consequently affect the ecosystem.
Yusuf also disclosed that the team generated N1.35 billion in revenue for the month of March and April 2022.
“We won’t allow smugglers to have their way through whichever means they choose. Our 24-hour patrols using the logistics support provided by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ibrahim Ali has yielded more results, in addition to the seizures we showed you two months ago.
“We shall always ensure compliance with all Customs extant laws, ensure complete payments of duties and penalties through Naira issuance of Demand Notices (DN) when necessary,” he pledged.
Yusuf further warned those contravening Customs laws and Federal Government’s fiscal policies, adding that the strike force’s readiness against their illegalities is sharpened with renewed vigour.
