The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command, has intercepted 7,580 cartons of unhealthy frozen poultry products worth N424 million in the first six month of 2024. The Customs Area Comptroller in charge of the command, Babatunde Olomu, disclosed this on Monday while addressing journalists in Apapa, Lagos. Olomu said the command generated N1.02tn worth of revenue between January and June 2024. According to him, the figure represents an increase of 143 per cent when compared to N421bn collected by the command same period in 2023.
Upon his assumption into office Olomu said a revenue recovery committee was inaugurated and within that period under review, the command intercepted 11 containers of prohibited consignments. According to him, the items include expired and unregistered pharmaceuticals, footwear, used clothing, armoured cables, frozen poultry products, etc.
He said, “Within the period under review, the command seized 11 containers containing prohibited items such as expired and unregistered pharmaceuticals, foot-wears, used clothing, armoured cables and frozen poultry products, among others, with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N424,105,975.00”.
He said, “just last week, we uncovered a large quantity of expired and unregistered pharmaceuticals in 3x40ft container numbers.”
He gave the containers as TCKU 6928184, MRKU 4422733, MRSU 5550243, and another 3x40ft container nos. MNBU 3934925, MEDU 9107559 and MEDU 9752980.
He said “They were loaded with 7,580 cartons of frozen poultry products unfit for human consumption, which is against schedule 3 of the revised import prohibition list of the Common External Tariff (CET) and violate section 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023”.
Olomu maintained that the harmful effects of fake and unregistered pharmaceutical products on citizens are unquantifiable.
“In light of the above, I want to use this opportunity to sound a note of warning to perpetrators of smuggling, duty evasion, and other forms of criminality frowned upon by the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and other extant laws, that Apapa command is poised to nip illicit importation in the bud,” he said.
Olomu reiterated that cargos are not allowed to exit from the port without thorough inspection using the scanner.
Subsequently, he vowed that the command shall not compromise on this, “As we would keep making seizures, detention and arrests where necessary to protect the national economy and prevent Nigerians from exposure to dangerous or unwholesome products like illicit drugs.
“We are also not leaving anything to chance for economic saboteurs as our non-intrusive inspection regime is fully in place where scanners are deployed for cargo examination with support of physical examination where and when necessary,” Olomu stated.
