Eromosele Abiodun
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Command on has said it seized three bullet-proof cars with a Duty Paid Value of N76million.
The Area Controller, Victor Dimka, a Customs Comptroller, disclosed this at a briefing held at the vehicle seat in the command.
He disclosed that individuals who desired to import bullet-proof cars into the country must get clearance from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
According to him, “The command seized three bullet-proof cars with a Duty Paid Value of N76million and this was done through intelligence gathering by officers of the command. A particular bullet-proof car, which was a 2012 Mercedes C300, was intercepted at the Gbaji area of Badagry and it had an official plate number of FG 35 S02.”
“Due process must be followed in the importation of bullet-proof cars and the process is that the individual must apply to the ONSA and if it is approved, the office would send an approval certificate to the NCS and the individual would be allowed. All the cars that were seized have been handed over to the Department of State Security Service for further investigation,” he said.
Dimka also warned against attacks of Customs officers by smugglers.
He said: “A situation where officers performing their legitimate duties are always ambushed and maimed with dangerous weapons would no longer be accepted or tolerated. Enough is enough. We are backed up by law so we are carrying out our legitimate duties by working to stem smuggling, so we are ready for war over this matter.
“Smuggling is dangerous to the economy, so anyone involved in it is considered as an enemy of the nation. We have upgraded ourselves and we have everything we need, so people should desist from smuggling or be ready to face the full wrath of the law.”
He reiterated the command’s commitment to surpass its revenue target for 2016, adding that all revenue loopholes have been effectively blocked.
