More than 800 bags of smuggled rice were seized by the Joint Task Force, Border Drill Operations in Unyenghe, Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
The task force comprising the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Army, Air Force, DSS and the Nigeria Police, made the big gain when they raided smugglers’ warehouses in the area.
Speaking with newsmen on Sunday, Shehu Abubakar, the Comptroller of Customs and Sector Coordinator for South South and South East Zone, described the area as smugglers haven, comfort zone and city of rice, which was discovered through intelligence information.
Abubakar threatened to burn down smugglers’ warehouses in the area if they continue to engage in such illegal activities.
The leader of the Task Force said the law gave the Customs power to search premises and to patrol freely, stressing that being in possession of smuggled items was an offence punishable under Customs and Excise Act.
He said the exercise was in accordance with the Federal Government decision to grow the local economy and to free the country from substandard goods.
According to him, this would be the first time to raid the area after many years, stressing that smugglers threatened to attack any security operatives that dare to disrupt their operations.
“We are here at Unyenghe community in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State to check and seized products smuggled into this community.
“This is the first time security agencies visit this community after so many years of smuggling activities in the area. They threaten to attack any security agency that may want to visit the area.
“They should rather start embarking on legitimate trade, because if we come back and find out that they are still in the line of the illegal business, we will have no option than to burn down their make shift houses,” he said.
Abubakar warned the people in the coastal community not to aid the smuggling activities, adding that the smugglers might be smuggling weapons and other dangerous equipment that might turn out to be destructive to the community.
He commended the Component Commanders for their cooperation in the exercise to ensure success.
