The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd), has said that the Apapa Customs Command had intercepted 16 containers of tyres, falsely declared as paper board and machine, with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N116.2 million.
“The company which imported the tyres is enjoying the facility of fast track, which is given to the factory for quick processes to reduce cost and speed the time,” the Customs boss said on Saturday in an interview with newsmen at the Apapa Customs Command in Lagos State
He added that “Some of those materials can be perishable and this is why customs gives some factories the facility to move their containers and thereafter customs officers will inspect the consignment in their factories.”
He said that all the tyres in the 16 containers were automatically seized and the law allowed customs to prosecute whoever was involved in the importation of the consignment, saying officers found culpable would also be prosecuted along with the clearing agents.
It had been specified in the customs’ laws that seized goods would be destroyed after getting court condemnation, the Comptroller-General said.
“We have 16 containers of new tyres on ground while 10 containers of the tyres with false declaration had been moved out of the port.
“We are now investigating and we will track the whereabouts of those containers. Although, the agents had lost his fasttrack facility and licence automatically,” Ali said.
One suspect Mr Dominic Obijaku was arrested along with the seized containers. The suspect claimed he had no knowledge of what was inside the containers.
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