(Industrial Times, Nigeria)
Today, the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, commended Babatunde Olomu, the Customs Area Controller for Apapa Command, and the officers working with him for the seizures of twelve containers of smuggled expired products through the port, in recent months.
CGC Adewale Adeniyi, also advised port users to embrace only legitimate trade and restate that “the NCS, under my leadership, is fully committed to its responsibilities in detecting all forms of concealments. “
CGC Adeniyi, gave the commendation at a press briefing to unveil the recent seizures at the Apapa Port.
He said : ” The Apapa Command handles the highest volume of trade for the NCS, collects the highest revenue, and is therefore saddled with a higher degree of expectation from the management of the Service and the government. I urge them to maintain this level of performance.
” Today, I am here to present seizures made by our officers at the Apapa Port Command, which comprise expired and controlled pharmaceutical products with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of NGN 1.8 billion.
” Allow me to explain that these items, if allowed to exit the ports, would undermine the security of our dear nation by influencing the behavior of individuals involved in criminal activities, often fueled by illicit drugs such as tramadol.
Aside from being expired, some of the seized drugs were imported without undergoing the necessary regulatory requirements, such as obtaining a National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) number.
We also have containers that were seized due to false declarations, ostensibly to evade duty payments, which amounts to smuggling.
In total, 12 containers have been seized.
These importations are in flagrant violation of Section 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act (NCSA) 2023.”