Five suspects have been arrested by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Onne, Rivers state, for allegedly importing military uniforms and other items.
Customs Area II Comptroller, Aliyu Galadima, disclosed this yesterday when he paraded the items at Onne Port. He said the arrest and confiscation of the items was the third by the command in about five months.
According to him, the first confiscated container, loaded with military wears was impounded in July along Aba-Port Harcourt Express road.Also impounded in August was a container with 4,400 army uniforms, while the latest one is a 40ft container, loaded with 600 pairs of military camouflage uniforms, 600 pairs of military caps and 600 pairs of military jungle boots.
Galadima lamented the danger of smuggling to the nation’s security, stressing that those who engage in the act are destroying the economy. He said: “It is disturbing that despite the wide awareness of the dire consequences of smuggling activities on economic growth and development, some citizens still find joy in perpetrating the evil act for personal gains.
“The Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Ibrahim Ali, has zero tolerance for smuggling and the NCS will do everything in its capacity to sustain the tempo.”
He explained that over time, the Customs Area 11 Command in Onne, has complained about the incessant activities of smugglers within the territories, describing it as having wreaked so much havoc on the nation’s economy.
