Tincan Island Command of the Nigerian Customs Service has seized a container of Cannabis Sativa imported from Canada.
This was disclosed by the Comptroller Gen of Customs, Wale Adeniyi, who stated that the illicit drug is valued at over ₦3bn. The service also intercepted some cartons of cough syrup.
The development comes days after the service said it seized smuggled Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol, worth ₦106m in seven days.
The National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind of the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller Kehinde Ejibunu, on Thursday, said it seized a total of 26,950 litres of petroleum products worth about ₦19m being smuggled out of the country into the Republic of Benin.
At a press briefing held at the Ogun State Command Office of the Nigeria Customs Service, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, he said activities of the smugglers usually aid the artificial scarcity of petroleum products in the country, leading to an increase in prices.
While explaining further, he said that the seized petroleum products which consisted of 978 kegs of 25 litres totalling 26,950 litres, were impounded in Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service, consisting of Lagos and Ogun states under two weeks.
He said that the special squad was set up two weeks ago by the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Bashir Adeniyi, to add bite to efforts to crack down on the criminals smuggling petroleum products outside the country.
“In just about two weeks of operation, the Operation Whirlwind team, Zone A axis intercepted 26,950 litres of premium motor spirit worth N19m,” he said
Ejibunu said that the menace posed by the unpatriotic act of smugglers on the Nigerian economy cannot be overemphasised, hence, the need for synergy with other relevant agencies to win the fight against the saboteurs.
