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Smugglers resort to mobilising local youths to help them beat up Customs officers

altSMUGGLERS have adopted the new tactic of mobilising local youths to join them in attacking Customs officers in their desperate bid to thwart efforts by the authorities to combat the illicit trade in contraband material.


Over the weekend, smugglers successfully mobilised youths from Kishi and Igbeti communities, to attack and beat up men from the of Oyo/Osun Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). These youths joined the criminals in beating up Customs officers on duty on the day, beating them up so badly, thus enabling the smugglers to carry out their business uninhibited.

Shallangwa Hassan Sule, the deputy comptroller of Customs and co-ordinator of the agency's anti-smuggling task force, said the smugglers descended on officers carrying out their legitimate duty. He added that the brutality of the attack left some officers badly injured and their patrol vehicle was also destroyed.

Mr Sule said: “Task force team had in the past weeks made it very difficult for smugglers in that axis to carry out their nefarious activities, hence they resorted to violence. This is with a view to intimidating the officers from carrying out their legitimate duty but we want to assure them that we cannot be intimidated by these acts of violence.

"We shall continue to vigorously perform our duty and also restrain from the use of arms with respect to the sanctity of human lives but I must warn that we shall not condone further acts of hooliganism to distract our operations. I want to state here for records that this team is a special anti-smuggling unit that is compact, fully kitted and staffed with highly trained and experienced officers."

According to Richard Oteri, the Customs area controller, between January and June 2014, the command has recorded 105 seizures, with a duty paid value of over N99.8m, and six suspects are standing trial for economic sabotage. He added that the seized goods, have been deposited at the government warehouse in Ibadan.

These items include 1,508 bags of foreign rice, 71 bales of secondhand clothes and 45 bales of textile materials. They also include 13 used vehicles used in conveying contraband goods, 21 vehicles used in conveying contraband goods, 744 tokunbo tyres and many general merchandise goods.

“Let me use this opportunity to assure the trading community in the state that, as long as they engage in legitimate trade, they have nothing to fear.  However,  those who think they can make profit through compromising our economy, health and national security have everything to fear, because we must always bring them to justice," Mr Sule added.

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