From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun Area 1 Command, has intercepted and seized 1,245 rounds of live cartridges smuggled to the country from the Republic of Benin, the Controller in charge of the Command, Bamidele Makinde, has disclosed.
Apart from the seized ammunition concealed in 29 sacks, the operatives of the command equally intercepted 203 bags of foreign parboiled rice, each weighing 50kg, at the Ijoun axis of Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Makinde, who made this known while addressing newsmen on Monday, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said that the contrabands were intercepted on Friday,. August 12,by the Roving “B” Team of the NCS which was on a routine patrol of the border area.
Makinde disclosed that the smugglers resorted to abandoning the smuggled items along a bush path at Tombolo Junction, an exit point between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin, after a hot chase by the anti-smuggling operatives of the command.
He explained further that the command had through a credible intelligence, got wind of a planned movement of some prohibited items into the country from the Republic of Benin by “some unscrupulous elements”, hence, his command deployed necessary arsenal to counter their plans.
“During examination of the seized vehicles and the items, about 1, 245 rounds of 70mm (2¾) ammunition of Lion, Trust, Supreme and Restar branded cartridges were found to have been ingeniously concealed in 29 bags of the seizure. While considering the potential danger of ammunition of such magnitude, if successfully smuggled in, we redoubled our efforts to ensure that they do not find their ways into Nigeria”, he stated.
Emphasizing that such contrabands constitute serious threats to the safety of the border communities and the national security, Makinde, however, reiterated the commitment of the Ogun Area 1 Command under his watch towards ensuring maximum security of Nigeria’s border line “with all sense of patriotism”.
Disclosing further that the contrabands were loaded in five old vehicles of Toyota Camry brands, the Controller gave the Duty Payable Value (DPV) of the seizure to worth about N18 Million, stressing that investigation was still ongoing towards unraveling the cartel behind the crime.