Customs Impounds Sweet Packs Laden with Bullets

Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone ‘A’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted 436 cartridges concealed in packs of confectionaries and the service is waxing lyrical.

Uche Ejesieme, Customs public relations officer of the Zone, said that the consignments of concealed ammunition were allegedly intercepted last Wednesday during a routine check on a commercial vehicle at Gbaji Checkpoint along Badagry Expressway.

The suspected owners, according to Ejesieme, allegedly jumped into the nearby lagoon during the process of profiling by the arresting officers in order to confirm the real owners of the seized consignment.

Uche quoted Comptroller Dan Ugo, Controller of the Zone 'A' FOU, as saying that the unit has stepped up its anti-smuggling activities to check the influx of arms and ammunitions through the land borders following and intelligence reports.

Ugo noted that Dikko Inde Abdullahi, Customs comptroller-general had admonished officers to ensure extra vigilance, particularly at the land borders, so as to guard against influx of arms and ammunitions, especially with the recent insurgencies in a number of West African countries.

He added that the borders in the South-West and beyond will be thoroughly monitored, so that unscrupulous elements will not use these points for such illicit transactions.