Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has confiscated 64 assorted bulletproof vehicles from Omole Estate, Ojodu and Olayiwole Close, Lekki Phase One, with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N1,302,927,106.16.
The vehicles, mostly brand new automobiles, include two Lexus Jeeps (bulletproof), one Toyota Land Cruiser (bulletproof), nine Toyota Hilux, eight Toyota Hiace buses, 26 Toyota Corrola, nine Land Cruiser Jeeps, five Toyota Camry cars, one Land Rover, one Nissan Sentra, one Pajero Jeep, all 2017 models and one Sienna 2015 model and one Lexus RX 350, among others.
Speaking to newsmen in Lagos, Controller, Federal Operations Unit, Zone A, Mohammed Uba, said that while 57 vehicles were evacuated from the estate, seven were intercepted on information patrol along Ijebu Ode Expressway and Olorunda.
“As I speak with you, nobody has come forward to claim ownership yet. We doubt if they have any Customs papers on the vehicles, not to talk of the end-user certificate for the bulletproof. Our legal unit has already been mandated to investigate it and as soon as we get any head way about the owners or their agents, we will let the public know,” he said.
Other seized items are 13,333 bags of foreign parboiled rice (which is about 22 trailers), 1,390 cartons of frozen poultry products, 835 jerrycans of vegetable oil, 15 parcels of Indian hemp, 1,101 pieces of used tryes, 205 bales of used clothing with DPV of N1,595,141,144.81.
According to the controller, the items were intercepted between November 1 and 30, 2017 after an intensive move to meet up with the current smuggling tactics.
Also, a total of 17/20ft containers loaded with wood are under detention on the suspicion that they have not met the required guidelines for export, he said.
Uba added that another 1x20ft container was seized for carrying 385 cartons of Tiffany Crunch n’Cream biscuit, 2,300 cartons of Tiffany chocolate and Toffee sweet as against engine block declared.
The controller also said that in one month, the command recovered N108,306,018.25 making a cumulative of N1,703,447,163.06. However, five suspects have been arrested in connection with the seizures.