Onne Customs Intercepts 112,500 Rounds of Ammunition, Other Seizures Worth N13.9b
... Arrests 3 Suspects
The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi on Monday announced the interception of 9 containers bearing offensive items including arms, ammunition, illicit drugs and second hand clothings with total duty paid value of N13,915,710,000.00
The Customs Boss disclosed this at a press briefing on Monday in Onne, Rivers State.
Adeniyi announced that one of the containers, a 40-footer container with numbers; MAEU165396 which originated from Turkey, based on the number of risk factors associated with this importation, became a subject of interest for the Nigeria Customs Service.
Th CGC said, thorough examination of the container revealed the following alarming contents: Eight Hundred and Forty-Four (844) units of rifles, One Hundred and Twelve Thousand, Five Hundred (112,500) pieces of live ammunition.
The breakdown is as follows:
764 units of Tomahawk Jojef Magnum Black Pump Action Rifles, 10 units of VC Verney Caron Gunmakers Jojef Magnum Silver Pump Action Rifles, 50 units of VC Verney Caron Gunmaker Double Barrel Rifles, 20 units of VC Verney Caron Gunmaker Single Barrel Rifles, Exclusive Series, Sterling High-Quality Live Ammunition 34g – 25 Plastic Shotgun Shells (70MM)
The rifles and ammunition were concealed using various items such as doors, furniture, plumbing fittings, and leather bags. The duty-paid value of the container is Four Billion, One Hundred and Seventy-One Million, Seven Hundred and Ten Thousand Naira (₦4,171,710,000.00).
The duty-paid value of the single container is Four Billion, One Hundred and Seventy-One Million, Seven Hundred and Ten Thousand Naira (N4,171,710,000.00).
The Customs CG said three suspects is in our custody after securing a detention warrant from a competent court of justice.
The suspects arrested would be handed over to the Centre for further processing. We will work diligently with other Agencies of Government to apprehend all other cohorts and Death Merchants involved in this monkey business.
“The Eight Containers whose contents were wrongly declared to evade duty payment and Prohibition Order are hereby declared seized.
Furthermore, a thorough investigation is ongoing to ensure all those involved face the full wrath of the law.
In another development, our officers, through synergy, collaboration, and intelligence sharing, on Saturday, 29 June 2024, intercepted yet another 8×40-foot container on transit to a bonded warehouse from Onne Port.
The container numbers are TCKU6879285, CMAU5985012, CMAU7515384, CMAU4297020, SEKU5488437, BMOU4363156, MRKU4616024, and MRSU3068928. Upon examination, they were found to contain the following:
Six containers laden with:
1,050,000 bottles of CSC Cough Syrup with Codeine (100ml), 3,500,000 tablets of Trodol Benzhexol Tablets (5mg)
Duty-paid value: Nine Billion, Six Hundred Million Naira (₦9,600,000,000.00)
Two containers laden with:
720 bales of used clothes
With Duty-paid value: ₦144,000,000.00
The total duty-paid value of the nine displayed containers is Thirteen Billion, Nine Hundred and Fifteen Million, Seven Hundred and Ten Thousand Naira (₦13,915,710,000.00).
Furthermore, Adeniyi said the Licences and Permits issued for the operation of all the Warehouses and Terminals as well as those of their Customs Agents involved in these cases are hereby suspended pending the determination of their involvement.
He said Customs Officers who are found complicit in the perpetration of these nefarious act would be heavily sanctioned in a manner that would be approved by the Board of the Nigeria Customs Service.
Officers who kept faith with the Oath of allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and refused to be bribed into releasing these containers will be adequately rewarded in a manner provided by the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
“Let me warmly commend the professional commitment of the Customs Area Comptroller Onne Port, Mohammed Babandede and through him his Officers and Men, for the meticulous approach deployed to this operation.
“I also acknowledge our various partners, local and international who provided us the much needed information to successfully prosecute this operation.
“Finally, this seizure serves as a strong warning to others who may be contemplating similar misadventures, my message to them is simple; we will run you out of business.
“The Nigeria Customs Service, under my leadership, will not tolerate any action that compromises the economy and security of our beloved nation”. he concluded
