Impounds 16 Trailers Of N350m Contraband

A total of 16 trailers carrying contraband goods worth N350 million have been seized by men of the Eastern Command of Nigeria Customs Service.

  The consignments which were seized in the creeks of Obolo in Cross River State by the marine arm of the service were said to be the largest in the history of the command.

  Addressing newsmen in Port Harcourt, the Assistant Comptroller General, Mohammed Othman, credited the success story of the command to the amnesty programme of the Federal Government which he said, made the creeks safer for their men to patrol and chase smugglers.

  He recalled that in November last year, the same command at Oron made a similar seizure where contraband goods worth N300 million were also seized and stocked at the Federal Government’s warehouse at Onne Port, Port Harcourt, before the current seizure.

  The Assistant Controller-General, however stated that the smugglers, suspected to have hauled the contraband goods from Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, escaped before they could be apprehended by men of the command who were on their trail for over 48 hours.

  He assured that smuggling has become increasingly unprofitable due to the crackdown his men have mounted on the illegal trade while also working on motivating the morale of their officers with incentives.

  Othman promised to reward those who were part of the success through submission of their names to the comptroller-general who will decide whether to use promotion or other forms of reward to appreciate their effort.