Customs intercept live turtles, military hardware at airport

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Murtala Muhammed Airport Command said, yesterday, that its operatives intercepted 250 live turtles, Canadian Cannabis Sativa, and military accoutrements worth over N3.32 billiin in the last three months.

Its Area Controller, Micheal Awe, said the command generated N144.2billion between January and October this year, as against N74.28billion recorded in the same period in 2023.

The contrabands, he said, were imported into the country from Canada, and Turkiye, among others, between July and October this year.

The items seized by the command included 23 pieces of Walkie Talkies; 175 pieces of military helmets and 50 pieces of drones.

Others include seven packages of 200mg and 225mg of Tramadol Hydrochloride; 1.5kg of Pangolin Scales and 0.2kg of Porcupine Pins.

The efforts to combat illicit trade, Awe said, “yielded impressive results, with total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of seized items amounting to N3.32billion between July and October 2024. The seized items contravene some of the provisions of the extant laws as enshrined in the Nigeria Customs Service Act (NCS Act) 2023

Speaking on the revenue generated by the command, he announced 94 per cent increase in import duties of the command which generated N144.2billion.

Awe attributed the amount generated to enhanced trade facilitation, improved stakeholder compliance, effective law enforcement, strategic resource deployment, interagency collaboration, efficient cargo clearance and intelligent risk management strategies.

“The NCS under my leadership during the period under review January to October 2024, generated revenue worth N144.2billion from Customs duties and other charges. In comparison to the revenue collected in the same period in 2023 which stood at N74.28billion this clearly shows a progressive difference of N69.9billion, depicting 94 per cent increase,” he said.

Moving forward, Awe added that the command will enhance trade facilitation measures, strengthen anti-smuggling efforts, improve stakeholder engagement and leverage on technology for efficient operations.

“I express appreciation to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and his management team for their unwavering support in carrying out official tasks effectively. Similarly, I hail officers and men of the command for their hard work and dedication towards achieving this great feat,” he said.

He also recognised contributions of stakeholders, mostly, the importers, exporters and clearing agents for their cooperation and compliance to extant laws.