The Port Harcourt Area 1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has seized four shipments with a duty-paid value of N112.68 million that were brought in unlawfully.
At the port terminal for the command in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, the comptroller, Ibrahim Muhammad, said this.
The deliveries, according to him, were made up of four containers that each held 2,965 gallons of vegetable oil.
“After receiving reliable information, some contraband was found, and an examination revealed that the items were mostly canisters of vegetable oil hidden in ceramic tiles and some household equipment.
“As a result, the four containers have been seized; an investigation is ongoing; we are aware that the agents have licenses; and customs has oversight of their activities.
As soon as the investigation is finished, we will receive another report, but for now, we have rightly recorded a case of seizure,” Muhammad added.
The Comptroller added that the list of seizures included 481 bales of used clothing, 700 packages of machetes, and 107 packages of shovels.
While some of the items, such as the vegetable oil and used clothing, were illegal, he claimed that shovels and machetes were being held in anticipation of receiving an end-user certificate from the Office of the Security Adviser due to the sensitivity of the impending general elections.
The Comptroller added that the command’s revenue increased by 12% to N92.32 billion in 2022 from N81.31 billion in 2021, totaling over N92.32 billion.
The Port Harcourt International Airport, International Brewery, and Nigeria Bottling Company’s excise taxes, according to Muhammad, were responsible for the increase in revenue.
