A destroyed refinery By Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited( NNPCL) says it has destroyed 134 illegal refineries in the last few weeks. Also, the company said 63 illegal pipeline connections were uncovered during the the weeks . The corporation, In a visual report, stated that at about 2 am on Sunday, a joint team of security agents discovered a large wooden boat illicitly loading stolen crude oil from Barge AGS01 within the OML 18 operating area, noted intelligence report a large wooden wooden boat was caught receiving crude oil from the barge. According to the state-owned oil firm, while the barge was towed away with a tugboat in custody, five speedboats used in towing the large wooden boat to the illegal loading site were also detained and the particulars of the tugboats and barge used for the operation were reportedly seized for further investigation. It further said that two large boats, which involve
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU) will make life more difficult for smugglers of goods into the country, NCS's Zone'A', Acting Controller, Hussein K Ejibunu, has said.
He said this yesterday,( Wednesday), during a media parley in Lagos..
According to him, Customs will be fiercer to smugglers soon, as the agency has concluded plans to uncover them by using intelligence-backed enforcement in the second half of the year.
“We shall get recalcitrant traders and their agents arrested and prosecuted in addition to seizing their wares.At this point, members of the trading community are advised to further embrace compliance and shun any act that would place them on the wrong side of the law.
“We advise them to keep themselves abreast of the import and export prohibition lists because claims of ignorance will not suffice as an excuse whenever they are caught.” he said.
The Customs Controller further said the unit has arrested a total of 60 suspected smugglers between January and June, 2023, coupled with the fact that it has intercepted and seized 580 smuggled goods valued at N4,022,960,075 during the period under review.
Ejibunu added that the Unit also recovered a total of N400,599,515.66 as revenue through the issuance of Demand Notices (DN).
He said,prominent among the seizures, s rice, which amounts to 36,742 bags X 50kg foreign parboiled rice, equivalent to 62 trailer-load.
He said that some of them were ferried through bush paths by smugglers who used motorcycles and rickety vehicles as means of conveyance.
Other seizures are 14,015 (7,728) parcels of Indian hemp; 1,064 bales of used clothing, 450 x 106 kg drums of carbide, 2 x 20 containers of unprocessed wood; 1,448 pieces of foreign rugs, 30 units of used motorcycles; 44 units of used vehicles (Tokunbo), 218,575 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 860 cartons of foreign poultry products and 833 pieces of used tyres.
Speaking further, DC Ejibunu said: “While this briefing dwells on our ant-smuggling activities which aim to protect our economy and prevent revenue loss, it is also aimed at discouraging unlawful activities especially those that contravene the Customs extant laws.
“Within the first six months of the year, our activities resulted in a high volume and value of seizures with some suspects arrested. We also succeeded in preventing the entry of dangerous or harmful substances like illicit drugs into the society.
“Our strategic intervention also achieved recovery of revenue through the issuance of demand notices to complete underpaid duties into the federal government coffers that were being evaded by some importers and their agents.
“For the period under review, we made 580 seizures with a duty-paid value of N4,022,960,075. We also arrested 60 suspects and recovered a total of N400,599,515.66 as revenue through the issuance of demand notices.
“We wish to express our profound gratitude to sister security agencies for their unflinching synergy in the course of our operations; special mention to the Department of State Security Services- Oyo State Command for the arrest of a notorious suspect that was on the wanted list for attack on a Customs patrol team escorting exhibits.
“Interestingly, this suspect was arrested and handed over the Unit yesterday.Through the federal high courts, 11 suspects were convicted for committing offences of improper importation, assault of Customs officers, being in possession of foreign parboiled rice and for being in possession of Pangolin scales meant for export.
“While some other smuggling and related cases instituted in the courts are at various stages of prosecution and would be followed up diligently”
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