By; NIYI OGUNGBOLA, Abeokuta.
The Ogun State Command of Nigeria Customs Service, has arrested 18 vehicles loaded with bags of rice at Idiroko border which were being smuggled into the country from Republic of Benin.
The Controller of the Command, Comptroller Waindu Multafu while briefing journalists on Monday at its Idiroko border, said the vehicles and contraband were impounded around 3:00am at Alari and Ifoyintedo bush paths, in Ipokia Local Government Area of the state.
According to him, the smuggled bags of rice and the vehicles were abandoned by the smugglers as Customs patrol team closed in on them, and they fled into the bush.
Multafu said also that the smugglers abandoned two locally-made long guns, while fleeing saying that they are always armed to the teeth.
He said, “In the past weeks, our goal of suppressing smuggling activities in this command had yielded unprecedented success due to the large volume of seizures that have been recorded.
“Precisely on Monday morning around 3am, our gallant officers while on patrol got a tip off on smugglers who were in a convoy of vehicles loaded with smuggled bags of rice and they stormed the locations, Alari and Ifoyintedo bush paths, on the way to Igbeji creek.
“They intercepted the 18 cars of different brands loaded with the goods smuggled from Republic of Benin into the country. The smugglers on sighting our officers abandoned the vehicles and fled into the bush. They also left behind two locally-made long guns.”
Multafu further explained that the command’s patrol team also intercepted 410 motorcycles being used as means of conveyance with each having a carrying capacity of eight bags of rice.
Though he emphasised that no arrest was made, the Controller however noted that the contraband may have being illegally imported into the country by a single carrier.
While warning smugglers to desist from the illegal business, Multafu maintained that the law banning rice importation through the land border is still in force.
He also warned that the command would not hesitate to comb all the known warehouses within the command to contravene poultry products since the Federal Government has alerted that some poultry products from Cameroun are infected with the dreaded Asian Influenza disease.
