The Niger Area Command of Nigeria Customs Service says it has arrested three suspected smugglers and confiscated six vehicles at Tegina in Kontagora Local Government Area of the state.
Alhaji Abba-Kaseem Yusuf, the Customs Area Comptroller in charge of Niger, Kogi and Kwara Commands, said this in an interview with Daybreak.ng in Minna on Friday.
He said that the seized vehicles had a total duty paid value of N6.7 million.
“The vehicles were seized by officers of the command at Tegina, Kontagora Local Government Area of Niger State.
“We received intelligence information that some people had smuggled vehicles from a neighbouring country without the payment of duty.
“The vehicles were smuggled in from Benin Republic through illegal routes; we quickly mobilised officers to the spot and seized the vehicles,” he added.
Yusuf said that the brands of the seized vehicles were Toyota Pick-up, Pontiac Vibe, Seat Alhambra, Mercedes Benz C280, Golf Wagon and Galaxy Ford.
The customs comptroller, who said that three suspects were also arrested in connection with the smuggling, urged the public to provide the area command with relevant information so as to curtail smuggling in the neighbourhood.
Yusuf called for the involvement of border communities in the anti-smuggling drive of the customs service, saying that the participation of the communities would particularly enhance the operations of the area command.
He, therefore, urged the residents of the border communities to always give intelligence reports on the movement of suspected smugglers to the customs officers at border posts.
He said that the service had started sensitising the residents of border communities, especially the youth, to the negative implications of smuggling on the national economy.
“Our areas of jurisdiction are no-go area for any economic saboteur, as competent officers and men are on ground in all the routes to arrest and prosecute the smugglers,” he added.
