Customs seizes 85 drums of petrol being smuggled to Cameroon

The Nigeria Customs Service has seized 85 200-litre drums of petrol being illegally transported from Adamawa State to the Republic of Cameroon.

Additionally, the Service confiscated 795 25-litre jerry cans of petrol found on a bush path in the Sahuda neighborhood near the Nigeria-Cameroon border. Comptroller Garba Bashir, the Customs Area Controller of the Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, addressed newsmen at the area headquarters in Yola on Friday morning, revealing that a car with a hidden compartment loaded with petrol was intercepted along the Girei-Wuro Boki axis of Adamawa State.

He explained that these operations were conducted by command operatives from the 29th of last month to date. He further mentioned that within the past six weeks, the Area Command, which covers Adamawa and Taraba states, recorded 17 seizure cases of various items with an aggregate duty value of N36,952,342.

He stated, “Despite the PMS subsidy repeal, smuggling from Nigeria into neighboring countries continues due to high fuel demand and higher prices in countries such as Cameroon and Benin Republic.”

He noted that some Nigerians exploit the higher fuel prices in these countries for personal gain through illegal exportation. However, he vowed that this trend would not be allowed to continue as his Command has been enhancing its capabilities and conducting operations to counter the smugglers.

“We will continue until we bring smuggling down completely,” he said.