The Adamawa/Taraba Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has recorded 15 instances of seizing various contraband items with a total duty paid value of N13,352,100.
These operations took place from the beginning of the previous month up to the present.
The confiscated items comprise 16,675 liters of petrol stored in 643 units of 25-liter jerry cans and three 200-liter drums, 20 bags of foreign parboiled rice weighing 50 kilograms each, and a second-hand Volkswagen Golf car equipped with a large modified fuel tank.
Salisu Kazaure Abdullahi, the Area Controller of the NCS for Adamawa/Taraba, briefed journalists on these seizures, highlighting that despite the removal of fuel subsidies, the smuggling of fuel products persists. He attributed this phenomenon to the high demand and elevated prices for fuel in neighboring countries such as Cameroon, Togo, and Benin Republic.
Abdullahi noted that fuel smuggling syndicates are resilient and well-funded, as they profit substantially from smuggling activities. Consequently, they are committed to maintaining their illicit operations at all costs.
However, he reassured that the NCS is continuously adapting its strategies and intensifying efforts to combat smuggling activities.
“We want to make it clear to the smugglers that regardless of their changing tactics, we will adjust ours accordingly, and ultimately, truth will prevail over deceit,” he affirmed.