Customs arrest 11 suspects over smuggling of N671m petrol, rice

Operatives of the Zone A Federal Operations Unit of Nigeria Customs Service on Wednesday said it arrested 11 suspects in connection with smuggling of 53,759 litres of petrol, 7,403 bags of 50kg of foreign parboiled rice and other contraband worth N671.6 million in the month of October 2022.

The Acting Comptroller, FOU, Zone A, acting Comptroller Hussein Ejibunu, who disclosed this during a press briefing in Lagos, said smuggling remains an illegal activity that constitutes a crime against Customs extant laws.

According to him, 11 suspects were arrested in connection with some of the seizures by the Unit and are at various stages of investigations.

He said within the period under review the unit seized 121 cartons of frozen poultry product, 724 bales of used second hand clothings, three units of used motorcycles, 97 pieces of used tyres and 162 (96kg) parcels of Indian hemp.

He said others are 11 kegs of 25 litres of vegetable oil, 13 units of used fridges, 3,116 pieces of cutlass, 700 rolls of cigarettes, 23 cartons of dates, 9 units of vehicles, 21×40 containers of charcoal, adding that the items were seized along the border and port corridors in the South-wWst zone.