Customs destroys smuggled turkey worth N98.6m in Oyo state

Barely one month that the Oyo/Osun States Command of the Nigeria Customs Service destroyed smuggled frozen turkey worth N11.5 million, it has again destroyed another batch worth N98.6 million.

The Deputy Comptroller of the NCS in the command, Usman Bumba, told newsmen at the Lapite waste dump site, venue of the destruction exercise, that the new consignment was intercepted on June 6 along the old Abeokuta-Bakatari Road.

Bumba said: “It contained 19,750 cartons of turkey, 530 iron rods and 36 sheets of 8mm iron plates. The market value is put at N98,600,000 only.”

Bumba urged residents of the area to desist from eating frozen poultry products, saying: “They are hazardous to health and hinders the growth of the national economy.”

He reiterated the command’s commitment to reducing smuggling and boosting government’s revenue profile through new anti-smuggling strategies.

Bumba said the command in the last three weeks had seized 497 bags of rice, 139 bales of prohibited textiles, 621 used tyres, 600 bags of animal feeds, six cars, three trucks and a tipper.

He also said the command generated N63 million as revenue with N11.2 million realised from duties paid on cars only.

DSP Joseph Alajokun, who led the team that intercepted the truck carrying the turkey, said the officials acted on intelligence report from residents of the area.

He said his team trailed the smugglers for two days before the seizure, adding that the truck conveying the smuggled products was abandoned on the highway.



-- Business News