The Nigeria Customs
Service (NCS) may be chasing shadows in its bid to recover the ten 40ft containers of tyres out of the 26 containers said to have been falsely declared as paper board and machines which allegedly disappeared from Apapa premier ports recently.
Our findings reveal that, a team of investigators headed by an Assistant Comptroller of Customs from the service investigation unit, Abuja had already been deployed to Lagos to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of the 10 containers and those involved in the shady deals.
But, surprisingly the team is meeting a brick wall as regards adequate information to carry out their assignment.
According to our source, the circumstances in which the containers left Apapa port is becoming mysterious as the so called fast track beneficiary of the bad job, Messrs. DLE Hopes in Ikeja, Lagos is found to be fake and not traceable.
The team also discovered that the containers left the Apapa port without the knowledge of the Post Clearance Audit (PCA) and bond seat of the command which was supposed to provide escort and examination officers for the consignment at the owners warehouse. The team also discovered that there were no escorts for the containers as provided by Customs procedures for fast track consignments.
Our source confided that the usual process for Fast Track goods is that when a beneficiary of such imports bringing its goods, it already indicates in the Customs system that it’s a Fast Track Consignment. So the importer on arrival of such goods needs to process its papers at the Customs Processing Centre (CPC). Afterwards, he will notify the PCA of his readiness to move such goods to his warehouse. There and then PCA will provide Examination Officers to follow the goods, while FOU will provide the escorts for such goods. Such goods are examined at the owner’s warehouse.
But, in this case, as explained by our source, immediately the agent finished processing it papers at the CPC of the command, he never notify the PCA of his intention to move the consignment. Thus, 10 containers escaped through the Apapa port gate without their knowledge.
Worst still, there was no escort as according to our source, our findings also reveal that after the mysterious disappearance Customs has stopped assigning escorts for Fast Track Consignments even though it is provided in their procedure for such goods.
As it stands now, the investigating team is at lost on how to locate the missing containers with no traceable address of the importer.
The burning questions are. How did this importer qualify as a Fast Track Beneficiary. How did the container leave Apapa port-gate, without escort?. How did the importer process his documents and escape with 10 containers to no fixed address, leaving 16 behind without the knowledge of some persons?
It would be recalled that three week ago, the Apapa customs command had seized 10 by 40ft containers of new car tyres falsely declared as paper board and machines.
It was discovered that ten of the containers had already left the port before the deal was exposed.
During a press briefing by the CG of customs, Col. Hammed Ali (Rtd) along side DCG Dan Ugo and Iya Abubarka to showcase the seizure, Ali promised to prosecute all those involved in the deal, threatening as usual that the penalty for such offence is 5 years imprisonment. He also ordered that all containers henceforth will go through 100 percent examination as the service can no longer trust importers of fast track goods due to cases like this.
Meanwhile when our correspondent contacted the Command Public Relation Officer, Mr.Emma Ekpa (CSC), to confirm the status of the 10 by 40ft missing containers of tyres, he simply put, “The matter is still under investigation, I will comment at the appropriate time”

Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos