Nigerian Customs Seizes 16,825 Fuel Litres From Smugglers, 266 Bags Of Rice In Adamawa | Sahara Reporters

The seized items also included second-hand clothing and a Mitsubishi Canter truck intercepted during a series of intelligence-led anti-smuggling operations across Adamawa State.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, on Friday showcased the seizure of 16,825 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 266 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 501 cartons of foreign-made bar soap and other contraband goods with a Duty Paid Value of N79.86million.

The seized items also included second-hand clothing and a Mitsubishi Canter truck intercepted during a series of intelligence-led anti-smuggling operations across Adamawa State.

The Customs Area Controller, Comptroller M.A. Tako, disclosed this during a press briefing at the command’s headquarters in Yola, where he warned smugglers to abandon illegal activities or face the full weight of the law.

Tako said the seizures resulted from intelligence gathering, surveillance and coordinated operations targeting suspected smuggling activities along border routes and other locations within the command’s area of responsibility.

He disclosed that on August 16, 2026, customs operatives raided the River Benue shoreline along the Ribadu axis, where they discovered 451 cartons of foreign-made bar soap concealed in a bush.

According to him, the goods were suspected to have been stockpiled for smuggling, but those responsible fled upon the arrival of the officers.

In another operation on August 20, customs officers recovered 374 jerry cans of PMS, each containing 25 litres, along a bush path in Sahuda, near the Nigeria-Cameroon border.

The command also intercepted a Mitsubishi Canter truck with registration number XB 566 GML along the Wuro Alhaji-Maiha axis on September 14.

Tako said the truck was conveying 116 bags of foreign parboiled rice, each weighing 50 kilogrammes, and 50 cartons of foreign-made bar soap.

On September 21, operatives discovered another 299 jerry cans of PMS, each containing 25 litres, along an unauthorised route in the Bele-Goshidan axis. The petroleum products were suspected to have been destined for illegal export.

The comptroller further disclosed that on October 2, officers seized 150 bags of foreign parboiled rice, each weighing 50 kilogrammes; 20 bags of locally produced maize, each weighing 100 kilogrammes; 11 bales of second-hand clothing; and five jumbo sacks of used clothing along a bush path on the Maiha-Mubi axis.

He said the operations yielded a total of 673 jerry cans of PMS, equivalent to 16,825 litres; 501 cartons of foreign-made bar soap; 266 bags of foreign parboiled rice; 11 bales and five jumbo sacks of second-hand clothing; and one Mitsubishi Canter truck.

The Customs Area Controller put the total Duty Paid Value of the seized goods at N79,857,500.

He said the seizures were made in accordance with the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, citing Sections 150, 233, 245, 246 and 248, as well as Schedule 3 of the Common External Tariff’s Import Prohibition List.

Tako commended the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and the service’s management team for providing the resources and logistical support needed to sustain the command’s anti-smuggling operations.

He also praised the officers involved in the operations for their vigilance and commitment to curbing smuggling.

The comptroller urged members of the public to provide credible and timely information about suspicious activities in their communities, stressing that border security was a collective responsibility.

Tako urged Nigerians to support the Customs Service in its efforts to combat economic sabotage in the national interest.

He warned smugglers that the service would not relent in its efforts to curb illicit trade and other illegal activities across the country’s borders, adding that anti-smuggling operations would continue in line with its statutory mandate.