... Arrest 4 Suspects Within One Month
The Federal Operations Unit 'Zone B' of the Nigeria Customs Service said it has within one month of activity intercepted and seized donkey products and other smuggled goods worth over three billion naira and arrested four persons in connection with the smuggling.
The Controller of the Unit, Comptrollers Ahmadu Shuibu revealed this to news men on the activities of his Unit between April 17th to May 17th 2024 at a press conference held at the FOU Zone B headquarters in Kaduna yesterday, the 21st of May 2024.
Giving account of the seizures, Compt. Shuibu said, "Of great importance is the interception of the illegal products of donkey perpetrated by some unscrupulous elements with no regard for the lives and preservation of endangered species like the donkey which is near extinction.
It is therefore with a personal sense of sadness to announce that our officers and men on two separate occasions impounded consignments of donkey bones and donkey meat, respectively, with a combined Duty Paid Value (DPV) of about Three Billion Naira".
He further stated that, On April 25, 2024, operatives of the Unit acting on credible intelligence intercepted One (1) Truck with Registration Number GGE 526 XL along Sokoto/Gusau Road in Zamfara State conveying illicit goods which were brought to Kaduna for further examination. Upon careful examination the truck was discovered to be conveying 750 sacks of donkey bones. The DPV for the donkey bones was estimated at Two Billion, Three Hundred and Sixty Three Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N2, 363,500,000.00) only".
"Again on May 5, 2024 at about 0310hrs, the operatives of the Unit intercepted Two (2) Canter Trucks carrying Dried Donkey Meat along Kontagora - Tegina Road in Niger State. After 100% physical examination the trucks were found to contain 860 sacks of Dried Donkey meat".
Compt. Shuibu stated that a total of four (4) persons were arrested in connection with these illicit trade on endangered species products as it contravenes Section 55 (1) paragraph c and i (1) of the NCS Act 2023. Government is concerned that donkeys are part of rare animals that are being driven towards extinction by activities of unscrupulous elements, and Nigeria is signatory to the international convention for the continued prevention of endangering these species.
Therefore, the Unit and indeed the Nigeria Customs Service will not and cannot fold its hand and allow this illegal trade to continue to take place.
Within the same period under review, the Controller informed that his operatives made a seizure of 58,740 sachets of tramadol and 48,000 ampules of Anelgin injection on the 2nd of May 2024 at about 1130hrs along Saminaka/Nimbiya/Kafanchan axis of Kaduna state were neatly concealed with motor spare parts and the DPV of these illicit drugs is One Hundred and Sixty-Seven Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N167,500.00) only.
Other items intercepted by the Unit according to Compt. Shuibu within the period are as follows, 12 vehicles (means of conveyance)
174 Bags of Foreign Rice (50 kg each), 234 Jerry cans of PMS (25 litres each) 109 bales of second hand clothings, 367 cartons of Spaghetti, 50 cartons of Macaroni
47 Jerry cans of foreign vegetable oil. Other items arrested are:
6 sacks of used shoes, 100 sacks of snuff, 30 bags of foreign sugar (25kg each), 2,255 cartons of herbicide chemical, 10 cartons of foreign couscous, 235 Bags of Foreign flour (25kg each) and
Over 100 cartons of general goods.
The total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of the seized items is Three Billion, One Hundred and Seventy-Five Million, Eighty Four Thousand Naira, Two Hundred and Seventeen Naira and Seventy-Five Kobo (N 3,175,084,217.75) only.
While commending his officers, Compt. Shuibu said, "the officers and men of the Unit are focused, committed and prepared to continue to carry out their assignments with utmost sense of courtesy and unwavering professionalism; The success we are showcasing today is therefore a demonstration of our collective determination to continue to carry out our duty with undivided attention, and without fear or favour".
While warning smugglers, he said, "Those who wish to try our resolve should have a rethink as we shall be unsparing in implementing the laws and policy directives of the Federal Government as directed by the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR and his management team.
He affirmed that the Anti-smuggling initiative is fast going beyond old traditional physical measures, the NCS has sharpened its skill in intelligence gathering through improved information technology kits. The era of exclusively mounting checkpoint is long gone, as our Enforcement Unit are up to date in the deployment of ICT assisted intelligence gathering and strategies to achieve our mandate".
On the suspect arrested for impersonation in Sokoto, compt. Shuibu said the law has taken its course on him. He used the medium to appreciate the leadership of the Sokoto/Zamfara Area Command of the Service and the Customs Police Unit for their continued efforts in assisting the Unit to take the Service to greater height.
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