Operatives of the Ogun Customs Area Command have seized 11 posh cars and bags of rice worth a sum of N125 million from suspected smugglers within Abeokuta and Idiroko axis of the State.
Vehicles seized at Abeokuta are: 2004 Honda Pilot car; one Toyota Highlander Sports Utility Vehicle; one 2004 Toyota Sienna car; 1999 Lexus car; one 2015 Toyota Highlander and a brand new 2017 Prado SUV with duty paid value of N75 million, while 573 bags of rice worth a sum of N2.4 million was also intercepted.
Also seized in the Idiroko axis were five cars including a brand new 2017 Toyota Hiace bus; Acura ZDX saloon car; Lexus RX 350 SUV; Opel Omega saloon car and one Opel Austral saloon car with duty paid value of N47.3 million.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday at the Idiroko Customs Area Command, Customs Area Controller of Ogun State, Comptroller Sani Madugu said no fewer than 20 cars had been intercepted the goods from smugglers within the last three weeks.
Madugu said: ‘’Anti-smuggling activities in the Ogun Area Command is ongoing and this is a result of what we have been able to do in the last four days. We are succeeding and we are defeating the smugglers and we are winning them(smugglers).One of the latest vehicles intercepted by our men is a brand new 2017 Toyota Prado jeep. We have about 600 bags of rice seized from smugglers within the last three days.
‘’We are fighting the smugglers in the bushes, on the road and in the creeks and any other place they hide rice. We have now discovered their hideout, where they normally hid rice in a small h’’ut in the bush where an elderly man would sit outside and disguise like the owner of the building to mislead our men. We broke into one of such buildings about two days ago and recovered about 250 bags of rice from the building.
‘’We have equally struck at another point where they are now hiding because the roads have become hot for them to operate or transport their illicit goods. We are trying our best, although they are devising new means of smuggling but whatever plans they devise to continue smuggling activities in Ogun Area Command, we have a ‘Plan B’ to contain them. We will continue to get them because we are getting maximum support from other security agencies; both the Brigade Commander of Army in Abeokuta and Commander of 192 Battalion in Owode, Yewa South Local Government Area as well as the Commanding Officer in charge of the army base in Ilaro are giving us helping hands, while the police commissioner, police area commanders and divisional police officers are cooperating with us in the fight against smuggling.’’
Madugu said the community leaders are being engaged to sensitise their people about the need to desist from smuggling activities.
‘’ We have been engaging community leaders, youth leaders and spiritual leaders in the fight against smuggling activities. We have visited top monarchs and traditional rulers in this regard but these smugglers have refused to listen to the monarchs because smuggling is a lucrative business that they cannot resist or leave. We are however currently prosecuting three suspected smugglers in court.’’
Checks by The Nation revealed that sundry prohibited items intercepted from smugglers including 8, 548 bags of rice,1,100 bags of sugar,1,031 kegs of vegetable oil, and 29 kegs of palm oil, among others are kept at the central warehouse of the customs command in Idiroko.
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