The Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs service (NCS) has intercepted as many as 9 containers of unprocessed and semi-processed wood at the factor of loading right into a vessel.
In an announcement disclosed by Customs area Controller of the Command, Mr Malanta Yusuf and signed by the Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Usman, and made available to journalists in Lagos on Thursday.
Yusuf defined that the wood seized is well worth over N70.5 million, noting that an unregistered pharmaceutical (codeine syrup and col caps), with a duty paid value of N78.7 million, become additionally seized.
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Yusuf attributed the achievement of the command to inter-agency synergy between customs and its sister agency such as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
““The collaboration with NDLEA has helped in gathering intelligence, leading to seizures of prohibited items as the command acted swiftly based on reliable information.
“Efforts at making Apapa Port a no-go area for unlawful trade will always be sustained while ensuring that maximum revenue is collected and remitted into government coffers,” he stated.
He said that the unregistered pharmaceuticals were observed in a field quantity TCKU 6800526 which was encumbered with 702 cartons of codeine syrup.
While arrests are yet to be made, the CAC stated investigation is ongoing by means of the Customs and the NDLEA to hit upon, arrest and prosecute perpetrators of the unlawful importation.
The Comptroller cited that those seizures of Timber and Rock Balsam contravened Sections 63 and 64 of the Export Trade (improper exportation of items).
“The command is going to make sure that recalcitrant traders are brought to book and exportation of prohibited items are not allowed to pass through Apapa port,” he stated.
Yusuf reiterated the command’s dedication to surpass its revenue collection of N870 billion in 2021.
He noted that a total of N95.3 billion was collected in January which surpassed the N54.3 billion collected in the same period in 2021 by N39 billion.
The NDLEA Commander in Apapa Port, Samuel Gadzama, also promised more potent synergy between his customs counterpart to prevent future illegal importation of this kind.
He explained that after going through the regular court tactics, the seized tablets might be publicly destroyed in line with extant legal guidelines.
