Customs intercepts fake drugs, frozen poultry, matchete, others at Apapa

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

In compliance to the current customs administration policy thrust of zero tolerance to smuggling and other economic sabotage, the Apapa Command of the Nigerian Customs service(NCS) has intercepted seven illegally imported containers containing cutlasses, expired pharmaceuticals, frozen poultry products, used clothing, among others.
Conducting newsmen round the seized items this Friday, Customs Area Controller, Apapa Command, Babatunde Olomu, revealed that the items violated the
import prohibition list and the Nigeria Customs Service Act, put their values at N292.2 million.
In a release made available to Nation Update, the Public Relations Officer(PRO) of the Command Abubakar Usman, revealed that the seized items will be duly handed over to the appropriate agencies for further investigation and regulatory action.
The release thus stated, “On Thursday, 18 July 2024, the command seized 2x40ft containers carrying 12,000 pieces of cutlass and machete; 2x40ft carrying 4,129 packages of frozen hen; Ix40ft container carrying 368 jumbo bales of used second hand clothing; and Ix40ft container of expired pharmaceutical.
“The duty paid value (DPV) of these seized items stood at 292,244,857.00. It is pertinent to note that this type of importation is against schedule 3 of the revised import prohibition list of the Common External Tariff (CET) and violate section 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.”
He went further to say, “Customs Area Controller, BO Olomu, has stated that the seizures were made following a combination of intelligence and diligent enforcement in ensuring that no consignment exits Apapa Port or any terminal under the command without undergoing proper examination.”

The command he assured as a working principle will continually sustain and improve on trade facilitation and maximum revenue collection without compromising the enforcement of extant laws as they pertain to false declaration, concealment, under declaration and under valuation.
Further reemphasized, “the command under the leadership of B.O Olomu will continue to enforce the requirements for sister regulatory agencies like NAFDAC in the case of food and drugs and strict implementation of the end user certificate rules for products that require us from relevant authorities like the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).”

Part of the seized items

According to the release, the command’s helmsman reiterated the earlier warning issued by the CGC on the smuggling of prohibited items and restated that the Apapa command will keep ensuring only consignments that meet the integrity test of compliance will be allowed to go through the port either as import or export cargoes.