The Kebbi Area Command’s Anti-bunkering team of the Nigeria Customs Service have seized 11,950 litres of Premium Motor Spirit intended to be smuggled out of the country through the Yauri waterway.
The Command revealed that intelligence operatives had monitored the movement of loaded jerrycans of PMS to a spot near the waterway for some days based on a tip-off, before the deployment of the anti-bunkering squad who struck and intercepted the 11,950 litres of PMS.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Command, Nasiru Manga, the anti-smuggling operatives/anti-bunkering team of the Command made the interception on Thursday, 11 August 2022, continually giving petroleum smugglers in the state a tough time.
He said that the product has been evacuated to the Command’s Headquarters in Birnin Kebbi.
Commenting on the development, the Customs Area Controller, Kebbi Area Command, Comptroller Joseph Attah lauded the fruitful collaboration of relevant units under the Command, stressing the need for security agencies to share information, work together and achieve results in the interest of the nation. “Together we are stronger”, he said.
The Customs Area Controller further restated the Command’s resolve to strictly monitor all the waterways under the Command, especially this rainy season against the smuggling of PMS, rice, second-hand clothes and other items that could compromise national security and the economy.
He called on border communities to give relevant information that can help curtail smuggling activities in Kebbi State.
The renewed offensive on smugglers in the last two weeks has seen the Command making several seizures of PMS, second-hand clothes, used vehicles, and foreign fertilizers among others.