The Nigeria Customs Service said it seized rice worth N597.7bn
brought into the country through the borders between January, 2016 and
August, 2016.
The Public Relations Officer of the service, Mr Wale Adeniyi, in an
interview in Abuja on Tuesday, said the worth of the commodity
confiscated during the period was higher when compared with N330.5bn
worth of rice seized in the same period in 2015.
He said the increase in the seizures was an indication that the customs would not in any way allow illegal importation of rice.
Adeniyi said the service’s rapprochement with its counterpart in the
Republic of Benin also facilitated the spate of confiscation of rice
along the borders between both countries.
“Our seizure on rice from January to August was N597.7 billion as
against N330.5 billion during the same period in 2015; this shows a huge
increase.
“The number of seizures from the statistics shows that smugglers now
know that it is no longer profitable to bring in rice through the
borders.
“So, since importation of rice is now restricted to the ports as even smugglers with one bag of rice are arrested.
“We have a number of arrests, particularly those using motorcycles, donkeys and even small vehicles.
NAN
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