The desire of a help supplier to meet the high demands of customers may have led a fellow into the net, after running into the hands of the Customs Headquarters Monitoring Team, from Idiroko axis.
The Indian hemp, with a street value of N1.3 million, was loaded is neat sacks like costly personal belonging in a wine-colour Toyota Corolla car when it ran into a dragnet of operatives led by Assistant Comptroller of Customs, Yahaya Biri Usman, last Thursday, 15th January 2015.
A reliable source told the Maritime First that though the patrol team, acting on a tip off, had sighted the vehicle earlier in a volatile area, they did not intercept, but continued to trail it, until about 10.25hrs when the driver moved into the Lagos – Ibadan expressway, with the three sacks of Indian hemp.
“We waited until we moved a low risk area to avert any operational hiccup”, a member of the team who spoke on condition of anonymity stated, pointing out that the anti-smuggling job was a lot easier now, because of the massive supports of the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko Inde, both in terms of logistics and welfare.
Meanwhile, the axis team leader has vowed to remain a force to reckon with in the anti-smuggling efforts of the Nigeria Customs Service, as he promised to ensure strict compliance with the Federal Government’s fiscal policy on trade and commerce; even as he called on members of the public to oblige the team with useful information that would aid their operations.
Yahaya Biri Usman highlighted that the team since inception had contributed immensely to the seizure profile of the Nigeria Customs Service, thereby justifying the very essence of its creation, adding that the collaboration and synergy which his team receives from the Controller Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’, Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Turaki Usman Adamu has been overwhelming.
“Smuggling, just like scavenging is a global menace and the NCS will continually be at the vanguard of ensuring its drastic suppression in line with its statutory obligations and extant laws”, he concluded, thanking the Customs management for the confidence repose in his team.
