Renewed onslaught against smuggling has led to the interception of 810 cartons of poultry products worth N4.4 million by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).
The seizure by the headquarters monitoring team, headed by Idiroko Axis, came as the Western Command, Ibafon opened a new clinic for staff and members of the community.
Team Coordinator, Deputy Comptroller Yahaya Usman, said the seizure shows the team has an “effective synergy and collaboration with the resident units and commands of the Nigeria Customs Service, and remains totally committed to eradicating the menace of smuggling.
“The team is determined to explore avenues of ensuring practical compliance with the headquarters directive on zero tolerance for smuggled poultry products.”
Usman enthused that the anticipated launch of Operation Hawk Descend will boost operational pedigree and ensure the fiscal policies of the government in terms of trade is guarded.
“My team, alongside others, is fully functionally equipped to tackle the hydra headed monster of smuggling, and we have vowed that we will stop at nothing until sustainable success is achieved.”
He disclosed that the seized poultry products will be destroyed and buried at the NCS premises in Ikeja under the watch of government agencies, including the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Usman urged Nigerians to support the NCS in its anti-smuggling crusade by providing information that will aid the tracking of smugglers and their illicit transactions.
NCS Deputy Comptroller General (Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection), Musa Tahir, explained that the new clinic in Ibafon will care for officers who get sick and those injured in the combat against smugglers.
He expressed optimism that it will enhance the efficiency of the command, especially in the face of Operation Hawk Descend instituted to curb the smuggling of frozen poultry products.
Tahir commended Area Controller, Yusuf Umar, for “transforming Western Operations from the rot of yester years,” noting that he “always leaves a legacy wherever he is posted.”
Umar attributed the success of his command to the “unflinching support” it enjoys from NCS Comptroller General, Abdullahi Dikko, and Zonal Coordinator (Zone A), Assistant Comptroller General, Victor Gbemudu.