Customs Releases Bullion Van, N24.5m Intercepted For Smuggling Rice

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has released a bullion van belonging to the Abeokuta branch of Access Bank, which was previously intercepted for smuggling bags of foreign parboiled rice into the country.

The release of the vehicle comes as the Ogun II Area Command of the Service announced its revenue generation of a total sum of N21.657 billion for the year 2023.

The bullion van, registered as FKJ 993 BZ, detained at the Customs’ House in Abeokuta for the past 22 months, was released on Friday. It was caught transporting a cash sum of N24,489,500 from one of its branches in the border axis to the Abeokuta headquarters before it veered into smuggling bags of rice.

Comptroller Bisi Alade, the Customs Controller for Ogun II Area Command, revealed that the bullion van was intercepted by the Joint Border Patrol Team while transporting the contraband at the Olorunda axis of the Sokoto – Ijoun/Joga expressway in the Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State in April 2022.

He said, “The foreign parboiled bags of rice, each weighing 59kg, were carefully concealed in the vehicle under the guise of only conveying the nation’s currency to its headquarters in Abeokuta. Consequently, the vehicle was taken to the Customs House in Abeokuta for safekeeping.”

Alade said that the currency, totaling over N24.489 million, carried along with the contraband, was deposited at the Abeokuta branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Additionally, three suspects arrested in connection with the seizure had been charged to court and were presently under administrative bail.

The release of the bullion van followed an appeal made by the bank to the NCS’ Controller General, Adewale Adeniyi, who, in compliance with the provisions of Section 248 (1) and (2) of the NCS Act 2023, sanctioned the release of the vehicle and the money.

The contraband was converted to seizure in line with Section 168 of the Customs Act 2023.

Regarding revenue generation, Alade stated that the command generated over N2.042 Billion in November 2023 alone, while the total revenue for the year 2023 stood at over N21.657 Billion.

He said, “The Service will continue to discharge its statutory mandate, encourage trade, production, and industrial activities in Ogun State, and maintain effective monitoring through intelligence deployment and robust stakeholders’ engagement in our operations.”