By Godfrey Bivbere

The Comptroller-General of Customs, CGC Strike Force Team A, has impounded 376.4 kilograms of pangolin scales,1010 x 50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice, 40 kilograms of Indian Hemp, and other prohibited items with Duty Paid Value, DPV of over N1 billion in the last two months.

Disclosing this in Lagos, the Coordinator of the team, Mohammed Sani Yusuf, said amongst the items seized for the contradiction of the Customs and Excise Management Act, are 100 cartons of red wine, 58 bales of used clothing, and 35 unit’s of 25 litres of jerry cans containing Premium Motor Spirit, PMS in the month of October and November. 

According to him, “Two suspects were arrested in connection with some Customs offenses during the period under review, both of them were released on administrative bail. 

“In our efforts to prevent revenue loss through undervaluation, underpayments, and wrong classification, N537.9 million was collected following issuance of Demand Notices, (D/Ns) to defaulters. 

“May I remind you that a ban was imposed on the international trade on pongolins and their parts in 2016 convention held in flora South Africa. Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

“Some species of animals are conserved from going into extinction, hence, pangolin among other animals have been subject to exploitation which has continued till date but little are known about their natural history, status that must be conserved.

“Campaigns and sensitization on the poaching of pangolins must be intensified since it plays a dominant role on the ecosystem thereby protecting the forest from termites and other insect destructions. 

“It would interest you to know that since our resumption till date, we have cumulatively generated N5.6 billion when compared with last year revenue N3.6 billion showing a difference of N1.7 billion representing 32 per cent increment through Demand Notice, underpayment and wrong classification.“We have also made a good numbers of seizures with a total DPV of N8.5 billion.

“Finally, as we intensify our efforts to continually seize smuggled items, and arrest suspected perpetrators, it is our hope that these’ seizures, revenue recoveries, and arrests would serve as deterrent to would be smugglers and duty evaders,” he concluded.