Customs intercepts 358 bags of rice in latest in latest device by smugglers
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Up to 358 bags of rice packed in 50kg quantities being conveyed in a purpose built fuel tanker have been intercepted in the North East by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in its discovery of the latest trick by criminals to transport contraband.
NCS Adamawa/Taraba Zonal Command headquarters in Yola displayed the tanker and the bags of rice, disclosing intelligence information led to the discovery the tanker was conveying rice and not petrol as would normally be assumed.
Comptroller Olaniyi Alajogun, who heads the NCS Adamawa/Taraba Zonal Command, said using a fuel tanker to transport rice is a deceptive method now adopted by fraudsters.
“From all indications, the tanker was never used to carry petrol. Even after bringing out the rice, there was no hint that the bags were concealed in a tanker. I think what they do now is to construct tankers purposely to smuggle rice.
“So, it’s not every vehicle designed as a fuel tanker that carries fuel. This particular tanker (the seized one), I don’t think it ever carries fuel,” he said.
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Other items seized
Other contraband displayed as seized by the Zonal Command from August when Alajogun assumed office include 531 50kg urea fertiliser, and 29,385 litres of petroleum products, per reporting by The Nation.
They also include 2,600 litres of foreign engine oil, 168 bales and 23 sacks of used clothing, six used vehicles, 75 cartons of foreign soap, 165kg of pangolin scales, and three sacks of used shoes.
Alajogun put the total duty paid value of the seized items at N144, 627, 737 but explained that due to the inflammable nature of the petroleum products, they were sold off at N12.5 million and the money was deposited into the Federation Account.
Customs’ revenue rises to N1.7tr
A total N1,755,386,486,390.02 was collected as revenue by the NCS in the first eight months of the year spanning January and August (8M 2022).
The NCS collected N241,903,781,854.46 in August alone, its highest ever monthly revenue, as it fires on all cylinders to help drive the vision of the federal government to diversify and expand its tax base in the face of dwindling oil revenue.
The revenue in 8M 2022 is N363,436,321,614.95 higher than N1,391,950,164,775.97 the NCS collected in 8M 2021.
Abuja has increased its focus on non-oil revenue sources, prompting higher expectations from revenue collection agencies such as the NCS, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), among others.
Nigeria plans to borrow N11 trillion to fund the 2023 budget in addition to selling some national assets.