The Comptroller-General of Customs, retired Col. Hameed Ali, said the compliance team of the service discovered 18 suspected smuggled exotic vehicles displayed for sale at a shop in Abuja.
Ali said this while addressing newsmen on the interception of the vehicles on Tuesday, September 19, in Abuja. According to him, beyond non-payment of customs duty, 13 of the vehicles were bullet proof and the vehicles also require clearance from the office of the National Security Adviser before importation.
“In a period of fragile security, we cannot afford to have unauthorized persons use armored vehicles without end user certificate and possession of these vehicles is illegal. “For the avoidance of doubt, what we are doing is in line with the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA)” Ali said.
Ali said that the reinvigorated anti-smuggling activities had yielded positive results in the past two months, adding that 265 vehicles were seized across the country.
“It is unfortunate that the service’s zero stand on smuggling continue to expose unwillingness of most Nigerian importers to comply with the law, these unpatriotic elements willingly comply with the law of other countries but refuse to comply with our national guidelines on imports and exports, the policy of reward for good job and punishment for those who compromise will continue under my leadership,” he added.
The Controller-General also said that the management would sustain the tempo and increase it by acquiring more working tools to boost effectiveness.
“My experience in Customs has shown that a well equipped and motivated Cu
stoms officer can deal decisively with smugglers and smoke them out of their illicit business, I know that together we can win the war against smuggling”.
Vehicles intercepted include:
1 Rolls Royce
1 Lincoln Navigator
1 Infinity
3 G wagons
2 Range Rovers
2 Toyota Sequoia
1 4matic Mercedes Benz
3 Toyota Prado
3 Lexus
1 Toyota Camry
See more photos below
