Tincan Island Command of the Nigerian Customs Service has seized a container of Cannabis Sativa imported from Canada.
According to the Comptroller Gen of Customs, Wale Adeniyi, the illicit drug is valued at over ₦3bn. The service also intercepted some cartons of cough syrup.
The development comes days after the service said it seized smuggled Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol, worth ₦106m in seven days.
The National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind of the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller Kehinde Ejibunu, on Thursday, said it seized a total of 26,950 litres of petroleum products worth about ₦19m being smuggled out of the country into the Republic of Benin.
At a press briefing held at the Ogun State Command Office of the Nigeria Customs Service, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, he said activities of the smugglers usually aid the artificial scarcity of petroleum products in the country, leading to an increase in prices.
Giving further details of the team’s activities, he said that the seized petroleum products which consisted of 978 kegs of 25 litres totalling 26,950 litres, were impounded in Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service, consisting of Lagos and Ogun states under two weeks.
He said that the special squad was set up two weeks ago by the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Bashir Adeniyi, to add bite to efforts to crack down on the criminals smuggling petroleum products outside the country.
“In just about two weeks of operation, the Operation Whirlwind team, Zone A axis intercepted 26,950 litres of premium motor spirit worth N19m,” he said
Ejibunu said that the menace posed by the unpatriotic act of smugglers on the Nigerian economy cannot be overemphasised, hence, the need for synergy with other relevant agencies to win the fight against the saboteurs.
Ejibunu disclosed further that “121 kegs of PMS of 25 litres equivalent to 3025 litres was intercepted at Oyinkansola Global Concept along Badagry/Seme road in Lagos State on 31st of May 2024.
“77 drums of PMS (616 kegs of 25 litres) equivalent to 15, 400 litres was seized on Friday, June 7, 2024, at Seayab Petroleum along Imeko/Obada road in Ogun State. The means of conveyance is a truck with the registration number 95D4244D”.
He further stated that another 100 kegs of PMS of 25 litres equivalent to 2500 litres, was impounded on Saturday, June 8 along Owode/Atan Road, Ogun State while an equivalent of 6,025 litres consisting of 141 kegs of 25 litres, was seized at Julankoly Oil and Gas along Owode/Ilaro Road.
Ejibunu said that the petroleum stations involved in the criminal activities have been sealed up while their owners will be prosecuted.
He said that the product seized would be condemned and then auctioned very soon given its inflammable nature, urging all those who are into criminal acts of sabotaging the country’s economy, to either have a change of heart or get dealt with according to the extant laws.