At the Ijebu-Ode checkpoint in Ogun State, the Federal Operations Unit, Zone A Ikeja, of the Nigeria Customs Service have intercepted a Toyota Sienna carrying 20 handgun pouches, 15 jack knives, and 15 bulletproof jackets.
According to an official statement released on Wednesday, the driver of the vehicle was apprehended and the controlled substances were confiscated.
The acting Customs Area Controller, Hussein Ejibunu, stated that the importation of bulletproof items necessitates an end-user certificate from the office of the National Security Adviser.
The statement read, “Within July, our officers intercepted smuggled 15 bulletproof jackets, 15 pieces of jack knives, and 20 pieces of pistol pouches inside a Toyota Sienna bus in Ogun State at Ijebu-Ode Checkpoint.
“The driver of the vehicle was arrested with the seized controlled wares. It is pertinent to know that the importation of all forms of bulletproof materials such as vests, ballistic materials, and vehicles, as well as parts and accessories for all military armaments and hardware such as guns, arms, and ammunition of all kinds; lethal and non-lethal requires an end-user certificate.”
According to Ejibunu, 13 people were detained in connection with a total of 50 seizures that were made in July.
“Notable among the seizures made were, 5,642 bags of foreign rice 50kg each equivalent to nine trailer loads, 18,925 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, 20 pieces of pistol pouches, 15 pieces of bulletproof jackets, 15 pieces of jack knives, 49 cartons of children school shoes, 181 parcels of Indian Hemp 87 kg each, 357 kegs of vegetable oil five litres each, one unit of Honda Motorcycle, two used (Tokunbo) vehicles, among others,” he said.
He further stated that the duty-paid worth of the seized products was N463 million.
According to the statement, the acting FOU boss turned over three suspects and 7.73 kg of cannabis sativa to officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s Lagos State Command for further investigation and prosecution.
