BY Udeme Clement
Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), saddled with the responsibility of curtailing smuggling, recently increased income-flow into  the economy with  N962million as Duty Paid Value (DPV) recorded within four months of operations.

The Customs Area Comptroller (CAC) of the unit, Comptroller Victor Dimka, who took over FOU in the last quarter of 2010, in a chat with Sunday Business, says the command is mapping out new strategies to stamp out smuggling and is battle-ready for smugglers.

When you took over the FOU in the last quarter of 2010, what were the structures you met on ground?

Victor Dimka

FOU is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that smuggling is curtailed to foster industrial growth. So the structures put in place by the outgoing comptroller Kane Emmanuel include the patrol teams, the check points and a well organised administrative system.
The major duty of the FOU is anti-smuggling.

Could  you tell us the number of seizures recorded and the Duty Paid Value (DPV) since you came on board?

I came in effectively in the months of October, November, December last year. We recorded 357 seizures with a DPV of N391million for December alone, 280 seizures with DPV of N197million in November and 310 seizures with DPV of N216 million for October.

In summation, we had the accumulative total of over N804 million for the three months. For vehicles and general goods, we had the total value of N326 million for December, N162 million for November and N180 million for October.

The general summary from September to December 2010 for seized goods stands at 873 seizures, 360 units as number of vehicles, making the total of 1,197 seizures. We also had 77 vehicles used as means of conveyance of smuggled items, 17 containers and 11 motorcycles (commonly known as Okada), making a total number of 109 means of carriage. These are vehicles, motorcycles as well as containers used for conveyance.

We had 61 suspects and six already convicted. In December alone, FOU had four convictions.  The summary from September to December which formed the last quarter of 2010 puts the total number of vehicles and general goods at over N791million, N170million as duty and N962million as DPV, which is approximately N1billion.

You took over FOU in October last year and, within three months, you realised that huge  sum as DPV. What were your strategies?

Apparently, Customs work is procedural and we followed the same procedures. But, at the same time, we brought in new strategies which we would not disclose to the public to check smugglers, because their criminal activity constitutes serious economic sabotage.

In FOU, we have repositioned ourselves to tackle smugglers as they come out with new techniques regularly. For instance, we have discovered that some smugglers have a clique within Alaba Market, where contra-band are smuggled into the market. The issue is that, once the items are taken inside the market, it becomes very difficult for us to penetrate the market to impound them.

In that case, we position our men at strategic points within the area to pick the goods as they come. Also we embark on thorough examination of goods at  specific check points to prevent these items from being taken into the market. Aside from that, our operations along Mile-2 and Agbara roads have taken a new dimension because the smugglers are very smart and we must check them in all ramifications.

At present, we have also discovered that some individuals secretly smuggle cars into the country and display them  in their car shops. We want them to understand that only Customs have the right to enter anywhere and conduct a search without warrant. So, we would fish them out as soon as possible.

As the CAC of FOU, what new structures would you put in place to operate much more efficiently?

We have our own strategies and we would continue to improve on the existing structures to ensure that all the approved check points are  effectively manned. Also, we must ensure that the officers on patrol at strategic locations and those on duty at various points are adequately equipped to carry out their  duty effectively. Our officers are regularly trained to discharge their duty in line with the  trend obtainable in developed economies.

We must ensure that the role and regulations governing our operations as stipulated in our books of instructions are strictly carried out.

There must be discipline and the command more than ever before should relate well with the public through its information unit and to ensure that 100 per cent support is given to men and officers in the field of anti-smuggling. The current Customs management gives  priority to welfare of the officers, which is a welcome development to encourage hard work and diligence in the service.

Importers and clearing agents complain  about FOU officers stopping their containers outside the ports, even when the containers had been examined by security agencies operating within the ports.

In  every organisation, we have checks and balances. FOU is saddled with the responsibility of checking the excesses of officers who might compromise their jobs. Our men would not carry out this task sitting in their offices. They go out to pick these containers and examine them based on information and signals from members of the public and even Customs officers. The FOU officers are mandated by the law governing their operations to go into the field to stop and check containers to determine if they meet appropriate valuation standard, and this is basically what we do.

Once importers are found wanting, the law must take its course. The containers must be taken to the station and be subjected to the documents submitted by the importers and clearing agents. If the documents fall short of the standard value, we issue demand notice to ensure that such documents are adequately adjusted upward to prevent revenue losses for government.