The Command’s also in the same period made. a seizure of over 32,000 bags of smuggled rice with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) ₦530,000,000. These feats attest to the command’s uncompromising stance to working in conformity to the current reforms of the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd)
This was contain in a Press Release sent out by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Selechang Taupyen adding that the command had also made a total 270 seizures with a Duty Paid Value₦235,648,447.00 within the same period under review. s The statement reads,
“It could be recalled that there was a smugglers’ ‘’Wonder Car’’ from the Headquarters Customs crew that was trending in the social media, with concealment of smuggled goods with a Duty Paid Value of over N40, 000, 000 which emanated from Seme border. It is pertinent to note that this dangerous concealment amongst others is routinely intercepted at the Seme axis.
The Customs Area Controller of Seme Command, Compt. Mohammed Aliyu A. seems to be operating in strict adherence to the reform agenda of the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Ibrahim Hammed Ali (Rtd). This is evident as his operational strategies are determinedly within the service mandate with the nation’s security in mind. The command has also succeeded in stemming the impunity and the flagrant abuse of the Federal Government policies by ardent smugglers, who used to operate at the border with dexterity and reckless abandon at the risk of officers lives”.
“A well-known traveler through the corridor will bear witness to the fact that smuggling is being confronted head long and there is no room for impunity in illegalities among saboteurs at Seme route now. The total and aggressive compliance level in the enforcement of relevant government policies is a thing of admiration in the command as seizures of different contrabands are reeled in to the warehouse in a perpetual manner.
“These exceptional performances within the country are felt in other countries as the command’s collaborative effort within the sub-region wax stronger daily. The synergy has yielded an unprecedented feat in the arrest of many items including over fifty stolen exotic cars at Republic of Cote d’Ivoire under the Interpol collaboration. If this performance could necessitate a commendation letter from the Cote d’Ivoire government to the Comptroller General of Customs as a way of appreciating the synergy at the regional level to rid of cross-border crimes, it is worthy of note that the Nigeria Customs Service is undergoing a positive metamorphosis that deserves the commendations.
The release also said that command is always gathering classified intelligence on the berthing of some consignments in the neighboring countries that are prohibited and restricted into Nigeria, and targeting Nigeria as her final destination. “Our strategies to work on such information are only disclosed when the information are effectively treated” .