Daily Independent Online.
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Monday,July 19, 2004.
Customs seizes N24 million frozen beef
By Muyiwa Dare
Maritime Reporter, Lagos.
The Federal Operations Unit (FOU) of the Nigeria
Customs Service in Lagos has seized about 2,310 cartons of banned frozen beef
products loaded into two 40-feet long refrigerated containers.
This was disclosed to reporters in Lagos at the
weekend by the Comptroller of the unit, Alhaji Umar Daura, at a press briefing held at the
conference room of the service at Ikeja.
Daura, who lamented that just a week earlier, the
unit displayed a huge seizure of bales of second hand clothing materials and
frozen poultry products, concealed in a MAN diesel truck, said that the seizure
of the beef was even more remarkable, adding that this was a clear
demonstration of unwaivering readiness and resolve to tackle smuggling in the
country.
“What you are witnessing today are 2,310
cartons of banned frozen beef products in lumps, loaded into two 40-feet long
refrigerated containers. The trucks were intercepted on Ijebu-Ode-Shagamu road.
This seizure was remarkable because since the ban on the importation of beef
and poultry products, we have been recording mostly seizures of poultry
products. What is being shown to you today is a demonstration of our
unwaivering readiness and resolve to tackle smuggling head-on”, he said.
The comptroller also disclosed that another unique
seizure of bags of rice and groundnut oil was made on the Idi-Iroko-Ajilete
road in Ogun state.
According to him, the smugglers concealed the bags of
rice and containers of groundnut oil in garri sacks to evade detection.The
groundnut oil containers were first put in water-proof bags before finally
packaged in jute bags.
While calling on smugglers to drop their illicit
trade and embrace legitimate businesses, the comptroller threatened that the
battle between them and the Customs Service has just begun and would continue
until smuggling is stamped out in the country.
