The Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) yesterday intercepted foreign parboiled rice smuggled into the country through the fuel tanks of motorcycles also known as Okada.

Speaking to newsmen yesterday, the Customs Area Controller, Compt. Muhammed Aliyu, said the unit intercepted the bikes at a forest in Ogun State. He said a motorcycle tank can contain half bags of rice.

According to him, a makeshift tank was created to fuel the motorcycle while the original fuel tank contained foreign rice. He lamented: “Motorcycle tanks is what they are using to smuggle rice, they create another space where they can fuel the bike.Who will believe smugglers can go to this length to use the tank as bunker to smuggle rice.  “This is a new method of smuggling rice, this is the few we can show you but by the time we bring the remaining bikes from the bush, you will all be amazed.

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“One tank is half bag of rice so two tanks is one bag of rice. So 50 tanks will produce 25 bags of rice. That is the level smugglers can go to smuggle rice into the country,” he lamented.

Speaking further, the CAC said the service further intercepted 5717 jerry cans of vegetable oil smuggled into the country. He said the vegetable oil was intercepted at a warehouse in Lagos after they were successfully smuggled through the border into the country.