The Western Marine Command (WMC) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) made 26 outstanding seizures of prohibited items whose duty paid value stood at ₦843,424,000.00.
This represents a significant increase of ₦724,842,665.00 or N611.26% over the 2023 performance of N118,581,335.
This was contained in the half-year report released by the Command Public Relations Officer, Superintendent of Customs Mailafiya Magaji on behalf of the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller P K Bamisaiye.
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The upsurge in revenue generation and number of seizures, the report says, reflects an increased level of commitment and style of performance by officers and men of the amphibious Command.
Top among the seizures that made the 2024 half-year performance outstanding are 5,685 loaves of Cannabis Sativa valued at over N711,700,500.
A total of 925 bags of 5Okg bags of foreign parboiled rice with a duty paid value of N97,448,000.00 seized within the period under reference also added to an improved record by the Command. This exceeded the 2023 DPV figure of N86,600,000.00 by over N10,000,000.00.
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Another important commodity whose seizure contributed to the notable mid-year performance of the Command is Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS).
A comprehensive analysis of interceptions of PMS reveals a total of 21,500 litres of the product confiscated during the period under review. This was against 17,865 litres of PMS seized in the corresponding period last year. The DPV of the commodity amounted to N14,186,000.00.00, January to June 2024 as against a total of N2,707,433.00 in the same period last year.
Going forward, the report says, the Western Marine Command under the able leadership of Comptroller Bamisaiye remains unwavering in fulfilling her mandate of enforcing desired anti-smuggling functions as it will not leave anything to chance in ensuring that it justifies the CGC and his Management Team’s efforts towards meeting the Service’s overall mandate to suppress smuggling or ensure that the malaise is brought down to the barest minimum.
