The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Kebbi Area Command, says it has seized contraband worth N164.8 million in the state.
Dr Ben Oramalugo, the Area Controller of NCS in the state, said this at a press conference on the achievements of the command on Saturday in Birnin Kebbi.
He said,”We directed our officers to intensify surveillance in all the nooks and crannies of the state, having had credible intelligence on the impending activities of smugglers.
“The following items were, therefore, seized during the period; 371 parcels of cannabis sativa, otherwise called Indian hemp, intercepted at Kawara water side, in Suru Local Government Area.
“We also seized 98 packs of diazepam,10 sacks of snuff, 1,080 pieces of donkey skin, 37 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 300 litres of PMS, 16 bales of second hand clothing and used Toyota Corolla as means of conveyance, among others.”
The area comptroller pegged the duty paid value of the seized items at N164.8 million.
On illegal drugs, he said the command had handed over cannabis sativa and hard drugs worth N94.8 million to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
“The seizure of such drugs is in line with the vow we made and our determination to rid the state of drug inflow and all items capable of causing harm to Nigerians,” he said.
Alhaji Sulaiman Usman, the NDLEA Commander who received the drugs, thanked the NCS for its efforts in curtailing the menace of illegal importation of drugs and anti-smuggling activities in the state.
“This is in line with the untiring effort and drive of our Chief Executive Officer/Chairman of NDLEA, Buba Marwa, in combatting the menace of drug abuse and smuggling in the country,” he said.
He also condoled the command over the killing of two of its personnel on Aug. 24, by suspected bandits.
Also, Alhaji Abdul-Razak Bashir, the state Commandant of Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service, who received the seized donkey skin, lauded the customs for their sustained fight against smuggling of endangered species.