By Divine Sam.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adamawa and Taraba Area Command, has intercepted contraband goods valued at ₦79.86 million during a series of anti-smuggling operations across Adamawa State.

The seized items include Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), foreign parboiled rice, foreign bar soap, second-hand clothing and a truck allegedly used to transport smuggled goods.

The Area Comptroller, Mohammed Tako, disclosed this on Friday during a press conference in Yola, where he reaffirmed the service’s commitment to tackling smuggling and facilitating legitimate trade.

According to Tako, the seizures followed intensified operations targeting identified smuggling routes and hotspots within the command over a two-month period.

He revealed that officers initially discovered 451 cartons of foreign bar soap concealed in the bush along the bank of the River Benue. The suspected smugglers reportedly abandoned the goods and fled when customs operatives arrived.

“Confronted by the swift intervention of our officers, the suspects abandoned the contraband and fled into the bush,” he said.

In another operation, customs officers recovered 374 jerrycans of petrol, each containing 25 litres, along a bush path in Sahuda, near the Nigeria-Cameroon border, in the early hours of August 20, 2026.

Tako also disclosed that a Mitsubishi Canter truck, with registration number XB 566 GML, was intercepted along the Wuro Alhaji-Maiha axis on September 14 at about 8:10 p.m., following credible intelligence.

The vehicle was reportedly carrying 116 bags of foreign parboiled rice, each weighing 50kg, alongside 50 cartons of foreign soap.

On September 21, at approximately 2:45 a.m., officers recovered another 299 jerrycans of petrol, each containing 25 litres, along an unauthorised route on the Belel-Goshidan axis. The comptroller said the petroleum products were intended to be smuggled out of Nigeria.

In a separate operation on October 2, 2026, customs operatives seized 150 bags of foreign parboiled rice weighing 50kg each, 20 bags of locally produced maize weighing 100kg each, 11 bales of second-hand clothing and five jumbo sacks of used clothes along a bush path on the Maiha-Mubi axis.

The goods were allegedly being assembled for onward smuggling when they were discovered by the operatives.

Giving a breakdown of the overall seizures, Tako said the command recovered 673 jerrycans of petrol, amounting to 16,825 litres; 501 cartons of foreign bar soap; 266 bags of foreign parboiled rice weighing 50kg each; 11 bales and five jumbo sacks of second-hand clothing; and one Mitsubishi Canter truck.

He valued the seized items at a total Duty Paid Value of ₦79,857,500.

The comptroller said the operations were carried out in accordance with the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, particularly Sections 150, 233, 245, 246 and 248, as well as Schedule 3 of the Common External Tariff, which outlines prohibited imports.

Tako called on community leaders and residents to support the Customs Service and other security agencies by providing relevant information to help combat smuggling and related criminal activities.

He stressed that sustained cooperation between security agencies and local communities was essential to protecting Nigeria’s economy and promoting legitimate trade.