The Nigeria Customs Service (Seme Area Command) has made rice seizures valued at N7.5million in a single operation.

Spokesman of the Command, Ernest Olottah, disclosed that the command was fully re-engineered under the leadership of Comptroller Willy Egbudin, to realize the mandate of the Comptroller General of Customs, which centres largely on zero tolerance for smuggling.

He said the smugglers calculated that the command may have relaxed its surveillance on the border after the yuletide but were shocked to have been trailed by officers of the Seme Area Command.

In the operation, one of the smugglers was apprehended.

With a thought that officers and men of the Command of Nigeria Customs Service have relaxed their increased surveillance that came with the yuletide period, an attempt by some smugglers to unlawfully bring in rice through the waters was foiled during the weekend.

Armed with the necessary intelligence and logistics, a patrol team led by Superintendent of Customs, Aina Olufemi, patiently tracked the movement of the smugglers to be sure where their boat will berth and discharge.

Having fully discharged the smuggled rice , our operatives swooped on them while loading and tactfully arrested one suspect who is helping us with investigation that will lead to the arrest of the baron and others involved in the economic vice, he explained.

Olottah said three outboard engine of the boat and 3 vehicles (1 volkswagen, 1Iveco & 1 Ford buses) being loaded with rice, bales of secondhand clothes and other smuggled goods have been securely transferred to the government warehouse.

He, however, frowned at a report by a maritime industry publication, Ships & Ports that alleged that command’s operatives collect N2.5 million per truck of rice to allow them into the country.

“The report is either a figment of the reporter’s imagination or the reporter is working for smugglers trying to blackmail the command into softening its sustained stance against rice importation and smuggling through the land border in line with the Federal Government’s directive”, he explained.

He continued: “Whereas the Ships and Ports reporter was not unaware of the strides and efforts being made by the command against rice smuggling, she chose to blackout the command’s achievement in the fight against rice smuggling.