- NCS Unveils Importer, Vessel Involved in Rifles Import as CGC Meets Turkish Ambassador
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has unveiled the importer involved in the importation of 470 riffles discovered las Thursday in Tin Can Island Port Complex (TCIP), Apapa, Lagos.
Besides the ship owner, the service also revealed the name of the vessel that conveyed the lethal weapons into the country.
According to the bill of lading of the container indicated elbow plumbing plastics and noted that the importer of the cargo is Great Oil and Gas Limited with the vessel named MV Arkas Africa owned by Hull Blyth.
This is coming on the heels of the meeting of the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Colonel Ibrahim Hameed Ali (retired) with the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria.
The NCS boss who revealed this in Lagos while addressing journalists on the latest discovery of the dangerous goods stated that NCS has so far intercepted 2,671 rifles illegally imported into Nigeria in the last eight months.
The guns were alleged to have been imported from Turkey through profiling approach ordered by the Customs Area Controller (CAC) of TCIP Area Command, Comptroller Bashir Yusuf in the wake of the earlier discoveries in the port.
His words: “Following the increase in the number of arms seizures in recent times, the Customs Area Controller of Tin-Can Port, Comptroller, Yusuf Bashir, ordered a detailed profile of all imports, especially those coming from Turkey. Customs decided to follow profiling approach of 100 percent examination on containers, especially those containers coming from Turkey.
“Tin Can Customs Command intercepted another 20ft container number CMAUI817/8 containing 470 pump action rifles, immediately the container landed from the port of origin to Nigerian ports. The terminal operators have been consequently directed to quarantine the container for analysis. The container was later transferred to the Enforcement Unit of the command where 100 per cent examination revealed 470 pump action rifles.”
Following the development, Ali said NCS would continue to subject all containers to 100 per cent examination until 80 per cent of the licensed customs agents abide with global standards and practices.
“We are going to subject all areas of Customs operations to 100 per cent examination to safeguard life of the citizens”, he said.
