The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), through its Operation Whirlwind has auctioned a total of 71,965 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol to residents of Adamawa State.
The seized and auctioned petrol is valued at over N81 million.
The National Coordinator of the Operation, Husseini Ejibunu in a press briefing of the Operation Whirlwind Zone D axis at the Customs’ area headquarters of the Adamawa/Taraba Area Command in Yola, said the fresh seizures covered the period from October 9, 2024.
He said, “The team has witnessed seizure of fuel with monetary value of N81,517,570.”
Ejibunu listed the seized items as I,124 Jerry cans of 24, 40 and 60 litres capacity; 53 drums of 200-litre capacity and 21,000 litres of petrol uncovered in two fuel tankers.
He added that the total petrol seized amounted to 71,965 litres which were “intended to be smuggled into the adjacent country, the Republic of Cameroon.”
Aside from the seized volumes of petrol, Ejibunu said the anti-smuggling drive of the Operation Whirlwind led to the intercepting of 14 fuel tankers loaded with petrol on the ground of product diversion and smuggling.
He explained further that out of the 14 tankers, the Operation Whirlwind handed 13 to the office of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in Yola and one to the NMDPRA in Taraba for continued interagency action.
