Dangote truck caught with 600 smuggled rice, three arrested
Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun 1 Area Command, have taken hold of an articulated vehicle loaded with 600 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice, belonging to Dangote Cement Company.
Three persons including the truck driver were arrested, on their way to conveying the consignment to the eastern part of the country.
This was discloser on Wednesday by the Customs Area Controller, Peter Kolo, during the monthly press briefing on the activities of the command in Idiroko.
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According to Kolo, the Dangote truck was intercepted at the Ijoun border area of Ogun State, saying investigation is ongoing to unmask those behind the act.
Kolo further revealed that the command also intercepted a truck belonging to the Nigerian Bottling Company used in smuggling contraband goods into the country.
Kolo said 7,000 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice or equivalent of 12 trailer loads were seized by the command in the month of April.
Also, 500 book sizes of cannabis, popularly known as Indian hemp, along with the vehicles used as means of conveyance were also seized.
According to him, smuggling of foreign rice is frustrating the Federal Government’s rice and agricultural policies.
“Just a few days ago, another articulated truck bearing the inscription and logo of Dangote Cement Company was intercepted in the Ijoun border area and was loaded with over 600 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice and heading for the eastern part of the country.
“Three persons were arrested, including the driver of the vehicle, and investigation is going to unravel those behind the massive smuggling activity.”
The controller said various quantities of poultry products, cannabis sativa, vehicles and other means of conveyance, used clothes and shoes, used tyres, sugar, tomato in retail form, body creams and petroleum products for export were also seized during the period under review.
Kolo added, “The cumulative Duty Paid Value for the seizures in April amounted to N189,923,293.
“The Federal Government’s directive on border closure is still subsisting. A sum of N225,000 was generated from the auction of seized petroleum products and scrap metals in the month of April.”
Kolo declared that the command will sustain the onslaught against smugglers in the face of several attacks on Customs personnel by smugglers and their promoters.
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