Customs foils smuggling attempt, seizes N33.7M worth of petrol in Taraba

The Nigerian Customs Service has successfully intercepted a large consignment of petroleum products being smuggled across the border in Taraba State.  

A total of 1,149 jerry cans, each filled with 30 litres of petrol, were seized at Kan-Iyaka, a border community in Sardauna Local Government Area.

The intercepted fuel, estimated to be worth N33.7 million, was being transported illegally into Cameroon.

The operation was carried out by the Adamawa/Taraba Command’s Operation Whirlwind, a special unit of the Customs Service tasked with combating smuggling activities.

Officials confirmed that those involved in the illicit trade were apprehended and would face legal action.

Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs, while briefing journalists at the Customs House in Jalingo on Friday, said the interception was made possible due to the hard work and commitment of the officers of Operation Whirlwind and other security operatives in preventing smuggling across Nigerian borders.

He expressed satisfaction with the vigilance and courage exhibited by the officers while carrying out the mission that led to the interception of the petrol products.

The Comptroller-General further stated that in recent weeks, Customs had witnessed a troubling increase in petroleum smuggling activities across the North-East zone frontier, particularly along the Adamawa and Taraba corridors.

He stressed that targeted operations in those areas had revealed strategic transit points for cross-border petroleum diversion.

He said the activities of petrol smugglers were creating artificial scarcity of the product and distorting supply chains in vulnerable communities, adding that such activities also funded enterprises that undermined regional security.