Tag Archives: Smuggling

FG May Close Seme Border Over Smuggling

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Nigeria may close its borders with Benin Republic to stem smuggling of rice and other consumables as well as the illegal importation of weapons into the country.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who expressed government’s displeasure over the porosity of the Seme border, said, it has rubbished efforts of the present administration in diversifying the economy, especially, through agriculture. He warned that government may be forced to take very drastic measures.

Speaking in Abuja when the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, led by its chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, visited the ministry, yesterday, as part of its oversight functions, Ogbeh recalled that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had threatened to shut the border but was prevailed upon by the then President of Benin Republic, Mr. Boni Iyayi, to rescind the decision.

“If that border will be a threat to the survival of Nigeria; we may decide to take very drastic action,” Ogbeh stated.

On his part, Senator Adamu urged government not to succumb to propaganda.

of those he described as powerful importers, who, according to him, “are bent on keeping farmers in foreign lands in business,” while their Nigerian counterparts live in penury.

He added that “the 70 percent tariff on rice should be maintained and progressed, proportionally, as the deadline for rice importation draws nearer.”

Credit:

http://sunnewsonline.com/smuggling-fg-may-close-seme-border/

Nigerian Court Jails Two Nigerians Caught Smuggling $5.4m Cash

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Two Nigerians, Ojukwu Nnamdi Rowland and Ngene Linus Chibuike, arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while attempting to smuggle $5, 424,270 USD out of the country, have been convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment respectively by Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

Mr. Rowland was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on October 22, 2015, for being in possession of cash in the sum of US$2,917,272 (Two Million, Nine Hundred and Seventeen Thousand, Two Hundred and Seventy Two United States Dollars) during his outbound clearance for a journey to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Contrary to the requirements of the law, Mr. Rowland did not declare the money to men and officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and was subsequently arrested and arraigned before Justice Buba.

Mr. Rowland pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge preferred against him and the matter went into full trial. Justice Buba found him guilty and sentenced him to two years imprisonment. He also ordered that the convict should forfeit the entire sum of $2,917,272 USD (Two Million, Nine Hundred and Seventeen Thousand, Two Hundred and Seventy Two United States Dollars) to the Nigerian government.

Justice Buba said the convict did not do the right thing by failing to declare the money to Customs officials. He ruled that the two years imprisonment should take effect from February 9, 2016.

Mr. Chibuike, on the other hand, was arraigned on October 22, 2015 for falsely declaring the sum of US$11,500 (Eleven Thousand and Five Hundred United States Dollars) out of the sum of $2,506,998 USD (Two Million, Five Hundred and Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety Eight United States Dollars) he had in his possession during an outbound clearance for a journey to China en-route Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mr. Chibuike pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge raised against him and the matter went into full trial. Justice Buba found him guilty and sentenced him to two years imprisonment.

Credit: PremiumTimes

Busted! Man Caught Smuggling Illegal Booze Down His Pants in Saudi Arabia

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This is the extreme lengths that one man in Saudi Arabia went to for a drink – smuggling 14 bottles of liquor into his underpants.

But alcohol is strictly forbidden in the country under strict Islamic law – and the man now faces a public lashing, alongside a lengthy jail sentence.

It’s believed that the man was returning from Bahrain – where booze is not illegal, and was caught on the King Fahd causeway that links the two countries with the bottles concealed under his robes.

But the problem of liver disease among those who head for Bahrain in search of a drink has now become so high that UK and American specialists are drafted in to treat the problem in state of the art hospitals.

Authorities are usually believed to take a softer approach to expatriates drinking in Saudi Arabia – as long as it is consumed in sealed quarters.

Another option is to make booze yourself – an endeavour which previously saw British expatriate Karl Andree facing the prospect of 350 lashes for making wine before he was eventually pardoned.

Credit: Yahoo

Customs Destroy 1,583 Cartons Of Frozen Poultry Products, Vow To Cripple Smuggling

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The Western Marine Command of the Nigeria Customs Service on Tuesday vowed to keep up the fight against smuggling of frozen poultry products, especially around Yekeme, near Badagry.

Controller in charge of the command, Yusuf Umar, said this while destroying 1,583 cartons of smuggled poultry products in Lagos.

He said the command had seized and destroyed 6,668 cartons of poultry products from July 7 to date when Operation Hawk Descend’ was established to fight the smuggling of the products.

Umar said customs would work to ensure that revenue leakages were plugged, just as it would work to protect the nation’s economy through its services.

He warned that smugglers must stop forthwith or be ready to face the wrath of the law.

“Those who engage in this act of smuggling of poultry products should desist, henceforth, because there is no hiding place for them as far as we are concerned…”

Read More: NAN

Cocaine Capsules Burst in Smuggler’s Stomach

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A 32-year-old suspected drug trafficker, Obiefuna Ndulue, has died after some capsules used to pack substance that tested positive for cocaine burst in his stomach.

The deceased was said to have slumped at the departure hall of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and was rushed to a hospital within the facility. It was learnt that Ndulue, who hailed from Anambra State, had wanted to travel via the Ethiopian airline to China.

PUNCH Metro gathered that 55 wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.2 kilogrammes were evacuated from the suspect’s stomach after he was stabilised at the hospital.

The Lagos-based trader was said to have confessed to an operative of the National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency that he had wanted to smuggle the drug. He reportedly died while receiving
treatment.

You recall yesterday TILB had shared a photo of a man arrested with N2.1million. The agency also said the 46-year-old businessman, Bamidele Ibiteye, was arrested for allegedly laundering $2,198,900 (about N440m).

It was learnt that the money was impounded from Ibiteye at the local wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, as he wanted to board a flight en route to Abuja.

Ibiteye, who runs a company, ND&C Global Investment Limited, told investigators that the money belonged to a medical practitioner in the state, identified as Thomas Martins.

The suspect, however, declined to reveal the identity of the person who was to receive the money.

The NDLEA Commander at the NAIA, Mr. Hamisu Lawan, confirmed Ndulue’s death.

He said:

“The deceased collapsed at the departure hall. He collapsed after he notified the airline officials of his intention to cancel his trip. About 55 wraps of substances that tested positive for cocaine with a total weight of 1.20kg was evacuated from his stomach.

The suspect confessed to cocaine ingestion. He later died while receiving treatment.”

The spokesperson for the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, confirmed Ibiteye’s arrest, adding that the money had been recovered.

He said:

“The $2,198,900 was seized from Ibiteye by anti-narcotic officials on the grounds of suspected money laundering at the local wing of the MMA2, Lagos. The suspect was apprehended on his way to Abuja and he is being investigated in connection with the case.”

It was gathered that the NDLEA Chairman, Ahmadu Giade, had directed that the suspect and the exhibit be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for further investigation.

19 Nigerians Attempt Smuggling Drugs To Asia Despite Death Sentence– NDLEA

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has said it saved 20 people from the death penalty in Asia by preventing them from smuggling drugs out of Nigeria. In a statement Thursday, the agency said since January 2014, 19 Nigerians and a Ghanaian have been arrested in Nigerian airports attempting to smuggle 106,914 kilogrammes of narcotics.

“Sixteen of the suspects were apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos while four others including a Ghanaian were caught at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu,” said Ahmadu Giade, NDLEA’s Chairman.

“Their final destinations are Malaysia, China and Thailand where drug trafficking is punishable by death.”

On Tuesday, four Nigerians were among eight people executed by Indonesian authorities over drug-related offences. While commiserating with the deceased families, the NDLEA urged relevant authorities to intensify anti-drug abuse campaign efforts. “I sincerely sympathise with the families of the executed drug convicts,” Mr. Giade said.

“This is a moment of sober reflection on the illicit activities of drug trafficking syndicates. This brings to the fore the bigger picture of those in foreign prisons, those arrested here and others preparing to smuggle drugs.

“It is a wake-up call for stakeholders to step up their counter-narcotics efforts. Apart from drug trafficking being a criminal act, narcotic smuggling poses a serious threat to public health and safety.”

Read More: premiumtimesng