Customs Laments Attacks on Personnel by Terrorists, Smugglers in Katsina
- Confiscates N69.6m contraband in one month
By Francis Sardauna
The Katsina Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has lamented that smugglers in collaboration with terrorists are attacking its personnel in border communities across the state.
The Command’s Area Comptroller, Dalha Wada Chedi, told journalists shortly after a Customs/Community Consultative Forum, that the attacks by the terrorists had led to casualities.
According to him, “We are having some challenges in the sense that some desperate smugglers in the state go to the extent of collaborating with bandits whereby we used to have a lot of attacks and record a lot of casualties.
“And at the same time, there are some in the community who are bent on destroying customs duties through rumour mongering. A story that is not true about customs duties or personnel.”
He warned the terrorists and smugglers to desist from their unlawful activities, adding that the men and officers of the command will not be deterred by the activities of the hoodlums and economic saboteurs.
Chedi, however, said the consultative forum was aimed at sensitizing the general public on customs anti-smuggling activities, expressing optimism that it will serve as a deterrent to the smugglers and to those who are planning to venture into such business.
Meanwhile, the comptroller while unveiling the achievements of the Command in the month of January, said the command has intercepted contraband worth over N69.6 million within the period under review.
He said the seized items included 235 pieces of foreign jack knives worth N775,500, 10 vehicles worth N24.2 million, 629 bags of rice worth N15.9 million, 50 bales of second hand clothing worth N7.2 million, 338 jerry cans of PMS worth N1.4 million and eight bales of new blanket worth N4.8 million.
Others, according to the Comptroller, are 826 cartons of spaghetti worth N4.96 million, 110 jerry cans of 25 litres of vegetable oil worth N2.8 million, 96 cartons of foreign milky worth N2.02 million, 46 carton
