Western Marine Command of Nigeria Customs Service recently, destroyed 950 cartons of smuggled poultry products worth N6.2 million. The poultry wrapped with polythene before being stuffed into cartons, were seized from smugglers in riverine area at the Idiroko axis between Benin Republic and Nigerian borders.
The command also seized 302 bags of imported rice with duty paid value (DPV) of N3.4 million
In a chat with journalists, the Customs Area Comptroller (CAC) of Western Marine Command, Mr Zakka Audu, disclosed that the smugglers will have no hiding place again. Excerpts:
Where seizures were made
The seizure of 950 cartons of poultry products, mainly turkey and chicken was made at night, on October 30, at the riverine area of Idiroko axis between Nigerian border and Benin Republic.
It is unprecedented in the sense that we have never made that kind of large seizure at a go. We did not arrest any of the smugglers. The rice was also seized within the same vicinity.
Arrest
The problem is that while Federal Operations Unit (FOU) and others can easily arrest suspects, our terrain is different. The moment the smugglers saw us, they jumped into the waters and our officers are not advised to jump into the waters in their pursuit.
Customs Comptroller General, Dr. Abdullahi Dikko Inde, is concerned about this issue of smugglers and that is why he has created the Rapid Response Squad which we work in synergy with. One of the gains of this synergy is this massive seizure in a single operation.
Strategies to stop smugglers
For obvious reasons, our strategies are not to be made public but suffice it to say that we have energized our teams.
We liaise with both the Federal Operations Unit and Comptroller General’s Task Force. With all that we have laid on ground, hardly can any smuggler pass through our area in Western Marine Command without being detected.
Dialogue with exporting countries of poultry products
My belief is that until countries within the Economic Communities of West African States (ECOWAS) harmonize their treaties, tariff systems and nomenclatures, the issue of smuggling will not be permanently addressed.
The countries within the ECOWAS Zone have fiscal and economic policies which are different from those of Nigeria.
For example, Nigeria cannot tell the Republic of Benin to ban the importation of rice or poultry products. It is not possible. While those other countries allow such importation, Nigeria does not.
It is necessary for me to make this clarification that rice is not prohibited in Nigeria but there are laid down rules and guidelines on how one can import rice into the country. Rice can only be imported into Nigeria through the ports and not through land borders.
At Seme border, you will see all kinds of vehicles, some like scooter with small cabin at the back. The operators of such vehicles try to smuggle about two or three bags of rice at a time.
Such vehicles, if they are up to 50 and each makes about 20 trips a day, you can then imagine the number of bags of rice that come into the country illegally through that one source.
Our operations at this command, though restricted to water and beaches, there are other authorities that attend to land smuggling.
Increased smuggling during Christmas
The ‘ember months usually come with increased trading activities between Nigeria and her neighbours. As the activities are picking up, smugglers are also getting more daring, but we at the Western Marine Command are more daring as well. We will take them on, on the waters and beaches.
Distruction of seized items
As the law is now, until it is changed, burning is the method prescribed for destroying seized poultry products. Ideally you are right that we should have been incinerating instead of burning, but for now, we do not have the resources. That is why we burn them.
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