The Niger/Kogi Area Command of Customs has intercepted a Range Rover with a fake Diplomatic vehicle registration number with concomitant, dangerous security implications.
Nigeriacrime.com gathered that, if it had scaled through the watchful eyes of the checkpoints mounted by the Command, it would have had serious security implications within the country.
Besides the fake Diplomatic Range Rover seized, eleven other exotic cars and other vehicles smuggled into the area Command Territory were also seized by the officers.
The Comptroller of the Area Command, Busayo Oluwagbemiga Kadejo said the seizures were just within one month. (November).
He said the Command had earlier in the year intercepted 317 packages (Block) of compressed Cannabis Sativa,(Marijuana) weighing 253.6kg with an estimated street value of twenty million, six hundred and five thousand naira, N20,605,00.00.
Also intercepted under the period under review was a Truck laden with Nigeria Railway Corporation Locomotive Parts (slippers) which the Comptroller said had been handed over to the Commander of Nigeria Civil Defence Corps,(NSCDC).
Similarly, he said the drugs have been transferred to the NDLEA Command in Minna.
“Other seizures and detentions recorded at various places within our Area of Responsibilities,(AOR) in various quantities during the period under review include a Truck laden with dutiable items, Jerrycans containing Premium Motor Spirit,(PMS) which have been auctioned due to its inflammable nature after due process has been followed and proceeds deposited into government coffer.”
According to him, ” the cumulative Duty Paid Value of all the seized items amounted to fifty-six million, six hundred and sixty-one thousand, five hundred and ninety-eight naira(N56,661,598.00).
On revenue, the Comptroller said the Command was able to recover ten million, twenty thousand, nine hundred and twenty naira(N10,020,990,00) only which he said were principally from Demand Notices(D/N).
“I use this opportunity to warn smugglers and other criminal elements no matter how highly placed in the society that we will not spare them. Our job is to implement Federal government Fiscal policies and we are committed to achieving that and are determined to frontally confront smugglers and all other economic saboteurs whose antics we will always discover and continue to make arrests, seizures and cripple their operations,” Kadejo declared.