Customs seize Bullet proof vehicles, military uniforms, others worth N2bn

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted goods worth N2 billion from people it described as ‘screenshot’ importers’.

The goods, seized between September 4 and October 3 by officers and men of the Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’, Ikeja, were imported through land borders and sea port.

While addessing reporters in his office on Thursday, the zone’s Area Controller, Mohammed Aliyu said the unit, in less than one month, intercepted military uniforms and various contraband with a duty paid value (DPV) of over N2 billion.

He also added that 28 suspects were arrested in connection with the 89 seizures made by the unit within the period under review.

The items include the following: 22 exotic vehicles, 11,303 bags of foreign parboiled rice brands, 2,410 cartons of foreign frozen poultry products, 853 jerry cans of vegetable oil, 245 parcels of Indian hemp, 4×40 feet containers of unprocessed wood, 2,017 bales of used clothing and 283 cartons of fake pharmaceutical products.

The 22 vehicles include nine bulletproof vehicles, four Lexus Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) IBXS70 (2016), three Land Cruiser jeeps (2016) and two Mercedes Benz G63 and 8,550 (2014/2015) model.

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The other vehicles include one Toyota Rav4 (2015) model, three Toyota Hilux (2018), two Toyota H1ghlander (2018), one Toyota Prado (2018), one Toyota Land cruiser (2016), one Toyota Corolla, one Toyota Fortuner (2017), one Toyota Sequoia and one Lexus RX 350, among others.

The 22 exotic vehicles, according to Mohammed, have a duty paid value of N1.1 billion.

Some of the bulletproof vehicles, Mohammed said were trailed and seized from some private homes on Victoria Island, Lagos after a tip-off.

 

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