Nigeria Customs Service, Area II Command Onne Port has collected a total of N58,059,198,130:33 for the first quarter of 2022.
This was disclosed in a press statement signed by Ifeoma Onuigbo Ojekwu, Customs Public Relations Officer, Area ll Command, Onne Port.
The figure is N19,181,883,844:21 higher than N38,877,314,286:12 collected within the first three months of 2021 which shows a 49.3 percent increase.
Speaking on anti-smuggling activities, the Customs Area Controller of the Command, Comptroller Auwal Mohammed, said the Command made a total of 9 seizures worth a duty paid value of N59,490,705.
Seized items include: 18,555 pairs of footwear worth N26,507,042; 270 pieces of machinery and parts worth N2,211,753; 3,825 pieces of used tyres worth N26,215,230 and 8 bags of rice worth N171,961.
Other seizures listed include 555 cartons of soap and foreign detergent worth N2,709,254; 3 bales of textile fabrics worth N250,377 and 72 cartons of tomato paste worth N1,425,103.
On export, Mohammed said the Command processed 320,245.34 metric tonnes of cargo with a free onboard value of N109,486,146,056.48.
A list of exported items includes sesame seed, ginger, hibiscus, fluorite ore, lead ore, palm kernel shell, cotton, float glass, aluminium, ingot and urea.
More exported items were foodstuff, columbite ore, cashew nuts, tin ore, printed sacks and others.
While commending the support and encouragement received from other government agencies, the CAC advised stakeholders to brace up for the non-intrusive inspection regime which will de-emphasize human contacts in the cargo clearing process and maximize technology for economic and security advantages.
“I urge all of us to embrace the reality of modern trade thrust in ports which emphasise a reduction in human contacts and maximum deployment of technology. The NCS management is taking further steps to actualise this as reflected in the recent stakeholders’ sensitisation meeting on Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) carried out by the ICT and Modernisation department.
“Together, let’s make Onne Port a high compliant area and together ensure that perpetrators of any form of illegality like smuggling, concealments, duty evasion, false declaration, undervaluation and other vices do not succeed here,” he said.
