The Oyo/Osun Area Command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it has generated more than N5.8 billion between March and July this year.
The command’s Customs Area Controller, Muhammed Bawa told journalists that eight smuggling suspects were also arrested and detained within the period under review.
He said due to the renewed strategy of the command to stop smuggling activities and plug leakages, a total of N102,587,134 was realised in vehicle import duty during the period.
The three major sources of revenue generation drive by the command, according to him, still remained the British American Tobacco, Nigeria Breweries plc, Ibadan and International Breweries, Ilesa.
“We have a total of 91 detentions investigated and 92 seizures with eight suspects taken into custody already within the period under review. The Duty Paid Value of the seizures is N218, 549,552.
“The command has generated the sum of N5, 898,773,058 between March and July, 2015. Vehicle owners are now coming to pay duty to make peace with the government to the extent that this source is becoming a noticeable duty platform,” he said.
Bawa, who assumed duty on March 25 this year, said Oyo State had large concentration of corporate poultry farms and that since the establishment of a special squad named Hawk Descend on July 7, 2015, foreign poultry products import had been put under check.
“The latest in the series of such seizures is 120 cartons of imported poultry products that were destroyed Tuesday evening in the presence of appropriate stakeholders. Beyond all these however, the command has created a modern creche for nursing mothers in the command to increase their confidence in the safety of their babies so that they can put in their best at work,” he said.
Bawa who led representatives of the sister agencies and members of the media to the destruction site where over 120 cartons of smuggled poultry products were destroyed said the interest of local farmers would be protected by his command while efforts at keeping smugglers out of business would be sustained. He added that suspects caught in illegal business of smuggling would be dealt with according to the law.
By Pita Ochai
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