By Thompson ABISOLA
The Federal Operations Unit, Zone B, of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), said it intercepted 1,825 bags of foreign rice and other commodities from smugglers in Katsina State in May 2018.
The Controller of the unit, Alhaji Usman Dakingari, made this known in Katsina on Wednesday. He said the agency seized 35 vehicles used by the smugglers in bringing the commodities into the country.
The controller also said that the service impounded 1,175 bags of sugar; 1,750 cartons of spaghetti; and 98 jerry cans of vegetable oil during the period under review.
“Our efforts to prevent smuggling have been challenging and rewarding. Smugglers are using various ways to do their illegal business. We are working and making progress,’’ Dakingari said.
He noted that rice smuggling in the country had reduced due to intensified efforts of Customs.
Dakingari advised consumers with a high taste for foreign rice to change their habit because they did not know when the commodity was produced.
“It is not the production and expiry dates that matter; most smugglers re-bag the rice and write expiry date to deceive customers,’’ the controller said.
He explained that the government banned importation of foreign rice to encourage local production and safeguard the health of the citizens.
