The Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted seven containers carrying expired pharmaceuticals, 12,000 pieces of cutlasses, machetes and 4,129 packages of frozen chicken imported into the country.
The Customs Area Controller, Apapa Command, Comptroller Babatunde Olomu, who made this disclosure on Friday at Apapa said the seizure was made on Thursday.
Olumo said all the seizures have a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of about N292.244 million.
He said the seizures were part of the Comptroller-General of Customs policy thrust of zero tolerance for smuggling.
“The Apapa Command of Nigeria Customs Service has successfully intercepted seven containers that fall short of the import prohibition guidelines from entering the country,” he said.
He disclosed that the expired drugs were imported from India, the cutlasses and machetes came from China while the frozen chicken were imported from Turkiyé.
According to him, it is pertinent to note that this type of importation is against Schedule 3 of the revised import prohibition list of the Common External Tariff (CET) and violates Section 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
“These seizures were made following a combination of intelligence and diligent enforcement in ensuring that no consignment exits Apapa Port or any terminal under the command without undergoing proper examination.
“As a working principle, I have reiterated that this command will continually sustain and improve on trade facilitation and maximum revenue collection without compromising the enforcement of our extant laws as they pertain to false declaration, concealment, under declaration and under valuation.
“We are also enforcing the requirements for sister regulatory agencies like the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in the case of food and drugs and strict implementation of the end user certificate rules for products that require it from relevant authorities like the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
“Let me use this opportunity to reiterate the earlier warning given by the CGC on the smuggling of prohibited items and restate that this command will keep ensuring that only consignments that meet the integrity test of compliance will be allowed to go through this port either as import or export cargoes,” he said.
He stated that the command would hand over the items to the appropriate agencies for further investigation and regulatory action.
