Customs Arrests 134 Suspected Smugglers In Three Months

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), says it has arrested 134 suspected smugglers in the first quarter of 2011, the Assistant Comptroller-General, Enforcement and Drugs, Mr Sunny Okpurhe, announced yesterday.

Okpurhe told our correspondent in Abuja that the figure contrasted with the 12 arrests made in the corresponding period in 2010.

He attributed the increased arrest of suspects to the constant surveillance at the border areas as well as improvement in equipment and staff welfare.

“This number of suspects keeps increasing; in January 52 suspects, it dropped in February to 25 and in March it increased to 57 suspects.”

On seized goods, Okpurhe said there was a circular from the comptroller-general directing officers of the service to de-emphasise abandoned seizures.

“When you arrest goods and allow the owners to go, it gives the impression that the officers are compromising.”

The assistant comptroller-general explained that when smugglers were being chased by NCS officers, the suspects usually abandoned their vehicles and ran away, making arrest impossible.

He said the customs could not “actually stop smuggling but can minimise and reduce its level”.

Okpurhe advised smugglers to stop their nefarious activities and follow the normal procedure of importation “because in the long run it is cheaper and easier for them”.

He, however, warned that the NCS “is ever ready for them.

“Nigerians can rest assured that customs is not sleeping; we know their expectations and we are trying to live up to those expectations.”