…Uncovers huge amount of expired and unregistered pharmaceuticals
ZAINAB JUNAID
Amidst shortfall of Trade volume, the extra measures put in place to prevent losses in government revenue by Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has resulted in the record of a whooping sum of One trillion, twenty-three billion, six hundred and sixty-three million, eight hundred and forty-two thousand, two hundred- and fifty five-naira, sixty-three kobo (N1,023,663,842,255.63) in six months.
The Customs Area Controller of the Command, Comptroller Babatunde Olomu disclosed this on Monday, 8, July 2024 while briefing journalists on activities of the Command for the first half Year 2024.
He said the feat recorded shows an increase of 143% above the figures of Four hundred and twenty-one billion, three hundred and eighty-two million, one hundred and sixty-six thousand, three hundred- and seventy-eight-naira, forty six kobo(N421,382,166,378.46) generated in the corresponding period in 2023.
Comptroller Olomu equally informed that the Command successfully seized eleven (11) containers comprising of prohibited items such as expired and unregistered pharmaceuticals, footwears, used clothing, armored cables, frozen poultry/ products etc., with a Duty Paid Value of Four hundred and twenty-four million, one hundred and five thousand, nine hundred and seventy-five naira (N424,105,975.00) as against 42 seizures with a DPV of N1.4billion made in the corresponding period in 2023.
To him, the Command uncovered a large quantity of expired and unregistered pharmaceuticals in 3x40ft container numbers TCKU 6928184, MRKU 4422733, MRSU 5550243, and another 3x40ft container nos. MNBU 3934925, MEDU 9107559 and MEDU 9752980 loaded with seven thousand five hundred and eighty (7,580) cartons of frozen poultry products unfit for human consumption, which is against schedule 3 of the revised import prohibition list of the Common External Tariff (CET), These importations violate section 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
Explaining the negativity imposed by these harmful substances, the Command’s helmsman explained that the intercepted fake and unregistered pharmaceutical products have unquantifiable effects on Nigerian Citizens.
“As a responsible service, we owe Nigerians the duty of preventing them from being exposed to this dangerous importation. In view of this, I want to use this opportunity to sound a note of warning to perpetrators of smuggling, duty evasion and other forms of criminality frowned upon by the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and other extant laws, that Apapa command is poised to nip illicit importation in the bud.
“Also in line with the CGC zero tolerance for smuggling, I have reformed the command way of treating transires by ensuring more meticulous management of cargoes moving from the mother port to bonded terminals.
“This has become necessary to prevent a situation where smugglers attempt to perpetuate illegalities in bonded terminals.
“To sustain this tempo, no cargo is allowed to exit from our control without thorough inspection using the scanner. We shall not compromise on this as we will keep making seizures, detention and arrests where necessary to protect the national economy and prevent Nigerians from exposure to dangerous or unwholesome products like illicit drugs,” he stated.
