Customs seizes 85 drums of petrol being smuggled to Cameroon

The Nigeria Customs Service has seized 85 200-litre drums of petrol being illegally transported from Adamawa State to Cameroon Republic.

The Service similarly confiscated 795 25-litre jerry cans of the same product which it found on a bush path at the Sahuda neighbourhood of the Nigeria-Cameroon border.

The Customs Area controller of the Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, Comptroller Garba Bashir, who addressed newsmen at the area headquarters in Yola Friday morning, said that a car with a hidden compartment loaded with petrol was intercepted along the Girei-Wuro Boki axis of Adamawa State.

He said the operations were carried out by operatives of the command from the 29th of last month to date.

He added that within the past six weeks, the Area Command which covers the two states of Adamawa and Taraba, recorded 17 cases of seizure of various items with aggregate duty value of N36,952,342.

He said, “In spite of the PMS subsidy repeal, smuggling from Nigeria into the neighbouring countries flourishes. This is due to strong fuel demand and steeper prices in adjacent countries such as Cameroon, Nigeria and Benin Republic.”

He added that selfish Nigerians take advantage of the higher prices in those countries to indulge in illegal export for personal gains.

However, he vowed that the trend would not be allowed to continue as his Command has been strengthening its capabilities and carrying out operations to counter the smugglers.

“We will continue until we bring smuggling down completely,” he said.