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Customs Intercepts N666 Million Worth of Fire Arms in 11 Months

Vanguard (Lagos)
NEWS
December 9, 2002
Posted to the web December 9, 2002

By Godwin Oritse

About 122,494 rounds of live cartridges and 20 fire arms valued at over N666
million were intercepted and confiscated from smugglers by the Nigeria Customs
Service (NCS) in the first eleven months of the year 2002. This according to
the Customs represents a significant increase when compared with 110,283 rounds
of live cartridges and 9 fire arms valued at N180 million intercepted between
Jan and December 2001. The comptroller general of the Customs service, Alhaji
Aliyu Mustapha attributed the success against smugglers to the approval of the
president given to the service to patrol the highways leading to Seme and
Idiroko border formations in Lagos and Ogun states respectively.
Until recently, the Seme and Idiroko borders had been described as most
notorious routes for smugglers, and which came under heavy surveillance of
Customs.
Due to the offensive against the recalcitrant smugglers, they (smugglers) have
diverted their route to the Ajah- Lekki Beach where they ferry goods overnight
by boats from outside the country.
Mustapha stated that "our reinvigorated land border anti-smuggling offensive
throughout the country recorded deserving results, most especially through the
gracious approval of the president allowing us to patrol the highways leading
to Seme and Idiroko boarder formations in Lagos and Ogun state respectively.
The approval has enhanced our offensive against the recalcitrant smugglers who
were already turning the axis into virtually the most notorious area for
smuggling activities in the country."
He warned smugglers who hitherto indulged in taking undue advantage of the
porous nature of the nation's border lines to desist from passing through
unapproved routes.
According to the Customs the last seizure of arms and ammunition made last
month was the sixth, thus adding that the quantity in a particular instance was
unprecedented.
He said "consistent with the service agency or secondary role on security
duties we have on five different occasions effected seizures of ammunition
during the period under review. Thus, seizure of 5,924 rounds; 10,000 rounds;
3,275 rounds; 102,000 rounds; 45 rounds; 1,250 rounds of live cartridges, 18
single barrel long guns, one riffle and one short gun were effected and handed
over to the police accordingly."

   

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