Daji Sani in Yola
Nigerian Customs Service has arrested 15 suspects for re-bagging foreign rice to be sold as local rice in Adamawa State.
Speaking to journalists on the arrest yesterday, the Customs Comptroller in charge of Adamawa/Taraba states, Mr. Kamardeen Olumoh, said the suspects were arrested in the act in a warehouse in Yola.
He explained that the continuous effort towards sustaining the fight against smugglers, officers and men of the command in conjunction with the Federal Operation Unit and Strike Force stumbled on this warehouse where they were re-bagging foreign rice.
“We discovered a warehouse they were re-bagging the foreign rice into bags to cover up from the customs,” Olumoh said.
Olumoh added that 900 bags with duty paid value of N14.5 million were found in the warehouse.
He said the customs arrested 15 suspects, including the manager of the warehouse and some labourers, adding that they would be prosecuted according to the law.
Olumoh said the command would soon raid Yola market for foreign rice.
The controller also showed a truck arrested with foreign rice along Mubi-Yola road covered with bags of assorted grains with duty paid value of N10.3 million. He said three suspects were arrested in connection with the lorry.
Meanwhile, speaking on the development, a rice farmer, Mr. Emmanuel Musa, said the clampdown on foreign rice has hike the price of local rice in the state.
He noted that the development was one of the best things government has done to them, adding that if sustained farming would become a lucrative business in the country.
