Aliyu: Despite Vigilance against Smuggling, FOU Focused on Trade Facilitation

Eromosele Abiodun

Controller of Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone ‘A’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Comptroller Gambo Aliyu has stated that the unit while maintaining vigilance against smuggling, fraud and criminalities, remains a strong partner in trade facilitation.

Aliyu stated this in Ikeja while showcasing seized items to journalists during a briefing on the unit’s recent operations.

He said FOU will continue to support legitimate trade through intelligence-driven operations that strike a balance between security enforcement and economic growth, ensuring that lawful traders are not unduly hindered in the process.

He announced that operatives of FOU recently arrested a 71-year-old man with 6.4kg of cocaine and Methamphetamine valued at N2.35 billion along the Lagos- Abidjan corridor.

The unit, he added, also intercepted 3,340 parcels of a synthetic strain of cannabis indica, popularly known as “Ghanaian loud,” weighing 1,540kg, alongside 15 trailer loads of smuggled rice and other contraband items as part of intensified operations against smuggling and economic sabotage across the South-West.

Aliyu said the arrests and seizures were part of ongoing efforts to combat economic saboteurs and safeguard Nigeria’s borders, noting that the unit remained resolute in enforcing federal government fiscal policies and provisions of the NCS Act 2023.

According to him, within eight weeks, the unit thwarted 473 smuggling attempts through enhanced surveillance, intelligence sharing, and inter-agency collaboration. “Items seized during the period include 8,794 bags of 50kg foreign rice equivalent to 15 trailer loads, 22 used vehicles, 1,863 used refrigerator compressors, 328 bales of used clothing, 1,188 kegs of vegetable oil, and 31,705 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

“Other seizures comprise 485 used tyres, 69 cartons of foreign spaghetti, 24 bags of foreign sugar, five cartons of St. Louis products, and 531 cartons of foreign poultry products. Speaking on drug-related operations, the controller said the unit launched a special operation code-named “Operation Hawk” to disrupt trafficking networks.

“This is aimed at curbing illicit goods trafficking, safeguarding revenue and protecting our society and environment from incidences of crime, criminalities and pervasive societal vices that threaten national stability. Against this backdrop, the unit successfully took out 3,340 parcels of synthetic strain of cannabis indica, ‘Ghanaian loud’, weighing 1540kg from the society.

“This effort is an affirmation of our commitment in the fight against drugs smuggling syndicates in the Zone. Our analysis of the trend in recent times, indicate that the traffickers are devising different methods to perpetuate illicit trade, therefore, there is the need for critical security stakeholders to upscale their intelligence sharing mechanism to cut the supply chain completely. “In addition to leveraging modern technologies for intelligence gathering, I have also constituted and effectively coordinated a specialised team responsible for integrating Human Intelligence (HUMINT) and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) operations, which is already yielding positive and measurable results, ” he said.