South-West: Customs seizes N1.4bn expired drugs in March

The Federal Operations Unit, Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Tuesday said it’s officials seized expired and illicit pharmaceutical drugs worth N1.4 billion in the South-West region of the country in March.

Addressing a press briefing in Ikeja area of Lagos on Tuesday, acting Controller of the Unit, Hussein Ejibunu said that the Unit also intercepted 11 trailer loads of imported ride in the period under review.

According to acting Controller Ejibunu, “Today’s briefing encapsulates the successes recorded by the Unit in the month of March 2023.

“Our strategies are consistently being reworked in our efforts to be ahead of the economic saboteurs, towards defeating their game of concealment, false declaration, under payment, and duty evasion.

“Prominent among the seizures made for contravening various sections of the extant Customs laws are:6,228 X 50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice (equivalent to 11 trailer loads); 35,325 liters of premium motor spirit (PMS); 279 Cartons of foreign poultry products; 105 parcels (50kg) of cannabis sativa; 2 x 40ft containers said to contain 883 bales of used clothes; 8 units of foreign used (Tokunbo) vehicles.

“The total worth of these goods in terms of duty paid value (DPV) stood at N694,462,150.00.
“Five suspects were arrested in connection with some of the goods.

“While the federal government played its role by imposing trade restrictions in an effort to protect our local companies and farmers from unhealthy competition with foreign firms, the onus lies on its citizens to complement government’s efforts with that of compliance with the Customs’ extant regulations and government’s fiscal policies.

“This can be achieved by making sincere declarations, and being properly guided by the import/export prohibition lists. It is imperative to note that the wisdom behind the government’s protectionist policy is to protect the national economy and safeguard its citizens’ lives and property.

“Smuggled bales of used clothes expose its users to fungal diseases and other skin diseases like scabies. Apart from the effect of smuggled foreign frozen poultry products on the economy, it also affects the health of its consumers. Some of these frozen poultry products are preserved under questionable conditions. This assertion is embedded in some previous laboratory reports by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

“As a part of the results achieved from the reworked strategy; expired, illicit, and other drugs that did not comply with the statutory import requirements were intercepted at different times and locations and constructively warehoused in 39 x 140 ft and 2 x 20 ft containers by this Unit, and will be handed over to NAFDAC for possible destruction. This seized drugs are worth a DPV of N1,422,000,000.

“In our efforts to prevent loss of government revenue to duty underpayments that either arose from the undervaluation of imported items or wrong Harmonized System (HS) code classification; the sum of N72,693,307.09 was recovered during the period under review. “These seizures are a reflection of our commitment to duty and non-compromise in the discharge of our functions; aimed at protecting the nation’s economy and preventing importation of prohibited and harmful products from entering our domestic markets.