Customs Seize ₦72.6m Worth of Contraband in Adamawa, Intensify Crackdown on Smugglers
By Ojoma Yusuf,Yola
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intensified its fight against smuggling in Adamawa State, seizing contraband goods valued at over ₦72.6 million in less than two weeks.
The Comptroller of the Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, Garba Bashir, disclosed this during a press briefing in Yola on Wednesday, reaffirming the agency’s determination to eliminate smuggling in the region.
“In Adamawa and Taraba States, smugglers will not have fresh air. We have started strangling them, and we will continue to strangle and suffocate them until smuggling activities are purged out of the states,” Bashir warned.
Providing details of recent enforcement actions, Bashir announced that on March 8 Customs operatives intercepted a Toyota Corolla loaded with petrol at the Fufore-Gurin axis, preventing an attempt to smuggle fuel into a neighboring country.
More to that, on March 13, Officers, as made known by him,raided the Jimeta Waterside along the River Benue, uncovering 240 drums of petrol, each containing 220 litres, prepared for illegal export to Cameroon.
Adding that on March 14 Intelligence-led operations in Fufore-Gurin resulted in the confiscation of 425 jerrycans of petrol, each holding 25 litres.
In total, the operation led to the seizure of 70,175 litres of petrol and a smuggling vehicle, dealing a significant blow to illicit fuel trade in the region.
Bashir credited these successes to improved intelligence sharing, technology-driven surveillance, and enhanced border management. He commended the leadership of Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and the cooperation of other security agencies.
He also issued a strong warning to smugglers, urging them to abandon their illicit trade.
“The Nigeria Customs Service is out to facilitate legitimate trade and is ever ready to crack down on smuggling cartels for the nation’s economy to have fresh air,” he stated.
Encouraging public participation in the fight against smuggling, Bashir called on Nigerians to report any suspicious trans-border activities and urged the media to amplify advocacy efforts.
“Smuggling has eaten deep into the nation’s economy and undermined our security. For a better and prosperous Nigeria, we need the unwavering support of all Nigerians in this fight—it is not a one-man business,” he emphasized.
