[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he proactive Customs Area Controller in charge of Seme Border  Compt. Mohammed Uba Garba  told newsmen that the process of meticulous hundred percent physical examination foiled attempt at smuggling 7,524 bottles of water from China into Nigeria .

The water with a duty paid value of N3,043,364.00 were uncovered at an Examination bay domiciled in a private facility in Lagos. Also seized were 114 parcels of cannabis sativa tucked in various compartments of a Toyota Highlander SUV

While reiterating the command’s resolve at suppressing smuggling, Garba said nine vehicles being used to smuggle soap,rice, used clothing, used shoes, insecticides, footwear and cosmetics were seized within a week

He gave a breakdown of duty paid value for the seizures which includes
83 cartons of soap, N1,816,424.00;
1,718 units of 50kg bags of Foreign parboiled rice,N655,250.00;
26 bales of used clothes valued at N918,918.00; 14 cartons of Nitro feminine soap worth N169,855.00;
13 bags of expired rice worth N54,860.00 and 8 sacks of used shoes valued at N98,090.00.

Other seizures he listed includes 65 units of 6 yards of textile valued at N63,759.00;11 cartons of insecticide worth N13,035.00 ; 864 units of 30 liter jerry cans of Sulphuric acid worth N3,542,400.00; 2 sacks of rubber slippers worth N38,228.00 and two cartons of lemon cream valued at N77,382.00

He explained further that one of the vehicle used for conveying the seized goods is a Toyota Hilux van disguised as an official vehicle to beat customs check.

The vehicle was intercepted conveying 16 bags of rice at Gbaji axis. Duty paid value for the means of conveyance and seized items in the vehicle is valued at at N8,716,663.00.

He promised that the momentum of total compliance to all extant laws will be sustained to ensure optimal revenue collection, trade facilitation and suppression of smuggling to the barest minimum.

While highlighting the gains that the country will benefit from the inter-connectivity between Nigeria and Republic of Benin as launched by the CGC Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) in June, the Garba added that the Command has been surpassing its revenue target for the last three months running.

Garba said total revenue generated by Seme Customs Command for the first half of the year stands at N4,185,782,397,representing about 64% of the annual allotted target.

He also called on his Benin counterparts to respect the International Law guiding the transfer of cargo from one customs administration to another.

According to him “transit provisions have been codified by a number of International Conventions, the most important being the GATT agreements on Transit, the WCO Kyoto Convention, and the 1982 Geneva Convention on the harmonization of frontier control of goods.

” Article V of the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) provides the freedom of transit and determines that There shall be freedom of transit through the territory of each Contracting Party, via the routes most convenient for international transit, for traffic in transit to or from the territory of other Contracting Parties These procedures are intended to protect the revenues of the country of transit, to avoid the circumstance that goods intended for transit are leaked to the domestic market..

“Such transit procedures should be simple so as not to generate excessive delays and costs. He declared that poor transit is a major obstacle to trade”

On auction of vehicles through bidding process in the customs online portal that a total of 37 vehicles have been released to the successful bidders in Seme

He called on the general public to be vigilant against internet fraudsters who prey on unsuspecting members of the public to dupe them of their legitimate earnings through dubious ploys for auction of seized goods. He clarified further that app.trade.gov.ng/eauction is the correct government site for auctioning.

By : Emeji Noble

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he proactive Seme Border  Customs Command said it has generated N4,405,042,027 from January till date, representing 65% of the total allotted target for 2019. The command also intercepted a red highlander Toyota jeep which had cannabis with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N1.4m concealed in it and seized 5,205 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice smuggled into the country. Also the command seized a white Scannia (ten tyre) truck carrying rotten hide and skin popularly known as ‘Ponmo’ 

According to Comptroller Uba Garba Mohammed, “the intensified operation of the Enforcement unit has drastically reduced smuggling activities to the barest minimum.

The seizures made include the following items: 5,204 bags of 50kg foreign rice which is equivalent to 9 Trailer trucks of Rice (DPV) – plus Levy of N. Total = N70,066,656.
10 x 25litres Jerry Cans of vegetable oil (DPV) worth N100,980, 13x50kg bags of sugar (DPV) worth N301,965, 1,078 cartons of poultry products worth N15,727,701, 55 cartons of spaghetti (DPV) worth N212,924, 97 Cartons of soap worth N619,820, 59 Cartons of insecticides worth N761,365, 65×6 Yards of Textiles worth N419,396, 17 sacks of used clothes/shoes worth N435,897, 4 cartons of tin tomatoes worth N29,179, 36 bales of used cloths worth N1,942,920, 60 pieces of used tyres worth N774,270, 669 packs of PVC carpet/foot mats worth N11,844,768, 2 cartons of cream worth N18,066, 114 parcels of cannabis were also found concealed in one red Toyota Highlander jeep and another 32 parcels in other operations with street value of N1,681,231. Nine (9) trucks placed on detention due to short payment
A total of five (5) vehicles have also been seized with duty paid value (DPV) of N7,549,132.

Mohammed stated that one suspect was arrested in connection with one of the seizures.

He further sounded a note of warning to those engaged in illegal activities and other cross-border vices to avoid Seme border or risk arrest and possible prosecution.

The Customs Area Controller additionally advised all Unit heads to ensure adequate supervision of their subordinates in order to facilitate legitimate trade across the frontier while equally keeping a healthy relationship with the critical stakeholders. This will ensure that our core mandate as directed is achieved.

The holistic approach in executing the mandate of the service, will lead to an all-encompassing result as revenue generation, suppression of smuggling and legitimate trade facilitation will be adequately enhanced at the Lagos – Abidjan corridor without compromising National Security.

The Comptroller assures members of both local and international business communities that the command will increase dialogue, enlightenment and robust stakeholder engagements for seamless operations through the modern Joint Border Post which is the first of its kind in the West African sub-region designed to promote regional integration, reduce clearing times at the border, increase government revenue, improve the free movement of persons and goods, eliminate corruption and loss of revenue at the borders, reduction of delays, operating cost and availability of baseline data for impact assessment.