Nigeria Customs Service Joint Border Patrol Team (JBPT) Sector 3 has intercepted a Toyota Land Cruiser (SUV) car belonging to a member of the National Assembly.
The sector coordinator of the JBPT and acting assistant comptroller of customs, Olugbenga Peter disclosed this to newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara State yesterday.
Peters said the vehicle was seized from two suspected armed robbers that had earlier allegedly snatched the car at gunpoint from the driver of the lawmaker. JBPT sector three covers Niger, Kwara, Kogi and Benue states. He put the worth of the car at N45million and yet to be paid duty paid value at N15 million.
Peters added, “Our operatives deployed to the Suleja axis of Niger State, while on routine patrol intercepted a Toyota land cruiser SUV with registration number KUJ 570 MB from Abuja heading to Kaduna.
“The operatives requested for the vehicle customs documents from the occupants. The two occupants who could not produce any document disembarked from the vehicle, pretending to be making a call to the owner and suddenly took to their heels and ran into the bush and abandoned the vehicle.
“While conducting a search on the vehicle, the operatives found a complimentary card bearing details of a National Assembly member. The said honorable member was subsequently contacted and officers were confronted with shocking news that the vehicle in question was snatched a few hours earlier from his driver at gunpoint around Gwarimpa axis of Abuja.
“I want to assure you that once the customs duty of the said vehicle is produced by the owner and confirmed to be genuine, the sector will hand over the vehicle to Nigeria Police Force for further investigations and theft clarification.”
He said the task force in the last four months, made 187 seizures, adding that, “during the period under review, Sector 3 has intercepted a total of three stolen vehicles. Namely; Lexus RX 350 without number plate sized around Benue axis, Toyota Yaris with Registration Number BEN-59-EZ apprehended around Lokoja Axis of the Sector. It is worthy of note that Sector 3 during the period, successfully recorded 187 seizures valuing N302. 6 million.”
He announced that the sector lost one of its officers to an unwarranted attack by yet to be identified persons.
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