The Nigeria Customs Service, Port Harcourt Area II Command, Onne, Rivers State, has intercepted 56 containers containing contraband goods valued at N5.53bn.
The seized consignments comprised vegetable oil, used clothing and foreign tomato paste, which Customs said were falsely declared as machinery and spare parts and brought into the country through the Onne Free Trade Zone.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed the seizure on Tuesday during a briefing in Onne, where he also inspected the detained containers at the Onne Wharf.
Adeniyi said the discovery followed intelligence gathering and risk-based profiling of importers operating through free trade zones.
According to him, 45 containers contained 25-litre cans of Delicious Pur vegetable oil, with 1,050 cans packed in each container. The consignment was valued at N4.25bn in duty-paid terms.
He said the containers were declared as machinery and spare parts, but physical examination revealed that they contained vegetable oil.
Adeniyi explained that the development raised concerns that some operators were exploiting concessions granted to free trade zones to divert goods into the domestic market.
He noted that the Federal Government created special economic and free trade zones to promote local manufacturing and exports, while granting operators incentives such as duty-free importation of plants, raw materials and machinery.
The Customs boss said the vegetable oil and other seized goods violated Sections 55 and 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
In addition to the vegetable oil, the command seized nine 40-foot containers of used clothing valued at N1.045bn and two 20-foot containers containing foreign tomato paste worth N232m.
Adeniyi said the owners of the consignments would face prosecution after investigations were concluded.
He said the enforcement action was necessary to protect government revenue, safeguard public health, support domestic manufacturers and prevent unfair competition against Nigerian producers.
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The Customs CG warned that false declarations and the importation of restricted goods could have serious consequences for the economy and national security.
He commended officers of the Port Harcourt Area II Command for their vigilance and urged them to sustain efforts against abuse of import concessions.
Customs refurbishes Rivers health centre
Meanwhile, Adeniyi inaugurated the reconstructed Ebubu Health Centre in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The health facility was renovated by the Port Harcourt Area II Command under its Corporate Social Responsibility programme.
Adeniyi said the project was part of the Customs Care initiative, through which the service had supported healthcare, education and other community development projects across the country.
He urged residents of Ebubu to protect the facility and ensure it was not vandalised.
The Area II Controller, Aliyu Alkali, said the health centre had previously been abandoned, with some of its equipment allegedly looted.
He expressed optimism that the renovated facility would improve access to healthcare for residents of the community.
The Director of Medical Services, Rivers State Primary Healthcare Management Board, Dr Tonye Lawson-Jack, thanked the Customs Service for the intervention and assured residents that adequate medical personnel would be provided to operate the centre.