Tin Can Customs Impounds 54 Containers of Banned Products

By Innocent Orok

The Nigeria Customs Service, Tin Can Island Command has impounded 54 by 40ft Containers comprising of 33 containers of rice and 19 others , comprising of various contra ban items.

The sized items were showcase yesterday to newsmen by the Comptroller General of the Customs, Col Hameed Ali (rtd)at the Tin can Island command.

The 33 Containers of rice was manufactured in May 2016 and expired in May 2018.
The rice was package and imported to the country for Masters Energy Commodities Limited located in Ikeja, Lagos State.

Other commodities seized by the command include 11 containers of unregistered pharmaceutical products, two containers of used tyres, one container of rice concealed with spare parts , another one container of used clothing and four containers of refined vegetable oil in retail pacts.

The Duty Paid Value for the seizures is put at N2,713,865,051.

According to the CG, the goods were seized in line with the provisions of Customs and Excise Management Act Cap C45 LFN 2004 Sections 46 and 161.

Ali also said that the closure of the land borders has forced some of the smugglers and importers to use Nigerian ports.
He added that the seizures showed that most of the items would have been smuggled into the country through the land borders if they were not closed down.
The CG commended the Officers and Men of the Tin Can Island Customs Command for the great feat.

He also disclosed that the Command has collected a total sum of N286.7billion between the month of January and October this year.

Ali said: “one significant finding about this seizure is that the rice is expired or about to expire. Also remarkable is the seizure of tramadal variants and unregistered performance enhancing drugs among the pharmaceutical”,

The Customs boss added that the latest seizures confirm the earlier statement by the Service that most of the imported rice were expired.
He said that the idea of bringing expired rice into the country was mainly to rebag them and sell same to unsuspecting Nigerians.