Four persons are currently being detained at the headquarters of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A, of the Nigeria Customs Service, Ikeja, over an attempt to smuggle 116,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (also known as petrol) into Benin Republic.
The suspects were arrested along the Badagry-Seme waterways with the product which they careful concealed in a wooden canoe.
Customs Area Controller, FOU, Zone A, Usman Bello Yahaya, while showcasing the seized products to media men at the Customs Terminal at Ikorodu, described the suspects as economic saboteurs and enemies of the nation.
Yahaya said the suspects, along with some others who are still at large, had perfected plans to move the petrol into Benin Republic where they would have sold it for a higher price.
Though the identities of the suspects were not disclosed owing to the new Lagos State government laws outlawing the parade of suspects in the state, the controller said efforts were on to arrest other fleeing members.
Yahaya said: “Just last week, officials of the unit while on patrol got intelligence report about the movement of smuggled items through the state backwaters.
“Based on the strength of the report, a team of operatives stormed the location along the Badagry-Seme waterways, where they saw a group of people loading jerry cans filled with petrol into a wooden canoe.
“The Customs men swooped on them and arrested four of the suspects. Others jumped into the river and swam off.
“Because we did not want to record any casualty, we allowed them to go without firing any shot. But four arrested were brought to base and they are still being detained.”
He also disclosed that investigation revealed that the suspects had on board the canoe 116,000 litres of petrol stored in 4,640 25-litre plastic jerry cans.
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