Worried by the atrocities of smugglers, the comptroller – general of the Nigeria Customs Service Alhaji Abdullahi Inde Dikko, on Wednesday in Ibadan called the judiciary to handle the prosecution of smuggling-related cases with much more seriousness and sanction offenders accordingly to serve as deterrents to others.

Dikko enjoined the courts handling customs cases to dispose of them on time to further assist in the decongestion of goods and custom warehouse premises.

The comptroller general was represented by the controller of the Osun/Oyo area command, Mr. Hassan Mahammed Mundu, at the area command Headquarters as Bodija, in the Oyo State capital economy by smugglers, he remarked that effective prosecution is one of the measures that can curb smuggling in Nigeria”.

He also emphasized the statutory role of the Nigeria customs service as international trade facilitator and complementary agency of national security to check and prevent the illegal importation of dangerous weapons, arms and ammunition through the country’s boarder, assuring that the officers and men will not relent in their efforts in this regard for the overall interest of the nation.

The comptroller General noted with delight that the Osun/Oyo Area Command tremendous successes between January and September this year in suppressing smuggling recorded 129 seizures with duty paid value (DPV) of N271,201,798.29 and 22 cases of detention pending investigation.

Some suspects who were nabbed in action recently in various smuggling activities within the area command were paraded to journalists at the forum.

Also paraded, among others, was a luxurious passenger but loaded with assorted imported textile materials which was intercepted in Osogbo, Osun State; a DAF truck with registration number Lagos XU678AGL fully loaded with imported lace materials and another truck registered Lagos XS935KSF loaded with imported regrettable oil contrabands.

He disclosed that all the suspects currently in the customs custody would be prosecuted in the courts in due course in accordance with the laws of the federation governing the various offences.

He added that the driver and motor boys of a trailer belonging to Dangote transport company which was recently arrested by the patrol team of the area command along Ibadan-Ife road for carrying contraband goods concealed in it, had already been charged to court and are presently being persecuted.

It will be recalled that the customs operatives had nabbed a freightliner belonging to Dangote organisation laden with the contrabands along Ibadan-Ife Road. The Dangote truck was loaded with about 176 rolls of assorted textile materials suspected to have been smuggled into the country.

On interception, the occupants of the sealed haulage trailer with registration number Jigawa XB694DUT, had declared wheat flour and sugar as the contents of the vehicle.

However, to the dismay of customs operatives, on a thorough search of the trailer, the contrabands in its assorted number, were discovered to have been concealed under a few bags of flour and sugar. The driver and his three motor boys were incessantly arrested by the customs operatives, together with the truck loads of contrabands which were driven to the headquarters of the customs area commands at Bodija in Ibadan.