Customs seize 8 cutlass containers

The Niger Customs Service has seized eight 20-foot containers containing 206,000 brand new machetes, sodium bromate, baking powder and Indian hemp at the Tincan Island Port.

Customs Area Controller, Tincan Island Command, Comptroller Adekunle Oloyede, revealed this in the First Quarter Revenue and Performance Report.

He said the containers came in from Ghana and lacked end-users certificate.

Oloyede said the seizures made included: 145kg of Colorado (Indian hemp) concealed in two units of Ridgeline trucks and two units of Toyota corolla vehicles, 206,000 pieces of machetes, 640 bales of used clothes, 236,500 pieces of used shoes, 62,509 pieces of new lady’s shoes, 1,670,400 pieces of Chloroquine injections (5mg/5ml), 1,814,400 pieces Novalgen injection (500mg/5m)), 48,850 rolls of cigarettes and 23,800 tons of sodium bromate and baking powder.

He pointed out that the importation of the products contravenes Sections 46, 47&161 of the Customs & Excise Management Act (CEMA) Cap 45 LFN 2004, adding that the Duty Paid Value of the seizures amounted to N1.05 billion.

“Right now there are eight containers of cutlass seized, because I will not allow cutlass without end users certificate. That is an instrument for war and not for farming use.

“Not even at this time that we are having security issues. They must go to the National Security Agency (NSA), and bring the end users certificate, otherwise they remain seized except there is a superior order but from this level, the eight containers remain seized.

“The machetes are not blanked, they are ready to use. If these should get into the hands of hoodlums, imagine the security implications of these cutlasses. If you must bring machete, because it is not banned, make sure you get the entire certificate necessary for importation of such.

“Things like caustic soda are used for improvised explosives, so we also ask them to have end users’ certificates. Like cutlasses, we want to know who would be the end user. It has to be controlled because of misuse by hoodlums. We cannot just allow these to go into town without knowing who the end users are, and we have to control the sale of this kind of instrument. They declared machetes, they did not falsely declare but we must know the end users, it is outright seizure,” he said.