By Ifeyinwa Obi
THE Area Comptroller, Federal Operations Unit,FOU, Zone C,Owerri, of the Nigerian Customs Service,NCS, Mr. Amade Abdull,  has declared that officers and men in his unit are beaming searchlight in the creeks, in order to forstall activities of smugglers who may be smuggling goods through the water ways.

Controller Abdulkarreem useni of Eastern Marine Customs Command showing seized wooden boast laoded with rice being smuggled into the country Oron, Akwa Ibom State

Abdull, who warned smugglers against the importation second hand clothes, said the textiles does not only cripples the economy, but has negative effect on the nation’s health.

Speaking in an exclusive chat with CustomsWatch, said, “ We have been able to make seizures to show them that we are at red alert.  Last two weeks around the Owerri axis we have been able to make seven seizures, one of them is a bus loaded with second hand tires, we have also seized second hand clothing’s, textiles, second shoes and Tokumbo cars.”

Continuing, he noted: “we have continuously warned them that these second hand clothing’s are even dangerous to their health.  Not only that it cripples our economy, but it has a negative effect on the health.  In as much as we are on the cause we will continue to tell them, educate and enlighten them.  The cars we seized are Audi 80 with DPV of 600,000, we have Nissan Sunny car with DPV also at 600,000.  We equally have Nissan premiere which we sized along Benin – Okada road with also has DPV of 600,000.”

In addition, he added that, “We in FOU are not only enforcement officers, we have officers who are revenue wizards so to say, those who knows about revenue collection and we are working hard to see that all the goods released from the seaports and airports within the zone covered duty payments.

Just yesterday we intercepted a truck load of goods with the duty half paid, so we raised a DN for the truck and he has gone to pay.  So we keep uncovering underpayments and we make them do the appropriate thing.”