No fewer than 162 bags of smuggled rice have been recovered by operatives of the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Beecroft, around the offshore area in Lagos State.
The Base Information Officer of the Nigerian Navy Ship Beecroft, Sub Lieutenant Veronica Effiong, said the contraband products were recovered when operatives of the Nigerian Navy intercepted a wooden boat ferrying the 162 bags of rice, adding that the items were smuggled into the country from the Republic of Benin.
She stated that the smuggled rice and the boat were handed over to officials of the Nigeria Customs Service.
She said, “In line with the Federal Government’s ban on the importation of rice, the Nigerian Navy has continued to collaborate with the Nigeria Customs Service to help stop the activities of smugglers who attempt to import this commodity in a bid to sabotage the nation’s economy.
“Thus the Nigerian Navy Ship Beecroft patrol team intercepted a wooden boat ferrying 162 bags of contraband rice around the Lagos offshore area around 3.30pm on June 8, 2021.
“Preliminary investigation by the base revealed that the bags of rice were all foreign parboiled rice smuggled into the country from the Republic of Benin. In line with the Nigerian Navy Standard Operating Procedures, the Nigerian Navy Ship Beecroft, on Friday, July 9, 2021, handed over the Cotonou boat and 162 bags of rice to the Nigeria Customs Service.
“The Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship Beecroft, Commodore Bashir Mohammed, warned smugglers to steer off Lagos maritime environment.”