The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command has failed to meet its revenue target of N35.5 billion for January 2018.
Regarded as the flagship command by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) owing to the quantum of revenue generated annually by the service compared to its counterparts other Customs formations, the command is home to Nigeria’s premier port, Apapa Quay.
Though it is presently under the management of a concessionaire, APM Terminal Limited, one of the subsidiaries of Danish port operations and logistics giant, AP Moller Group, as a result of the concession of the nation’s seaports by the Federal Government over a decade ago, the command is also home to Apapa Container Terminal (ACT), Apapa.
The ACT which is a key component of the Lagos Port Complex (LPC), Apapa remains the largest container terminal in the African continent.
The Customs Area Controller (CAC), Apapa Area Command, Comptroller Jibrin Musa who disclosed this in Lagos said his command generated a total sum of N31, 015, 084, 626, 85 in January 2018 as against the 25, 958, 919, 218, 73 which was collected in 2017”.
He also disclosed that three containers namely numbers MRSU 3637149 loaded with 936 cartons of tramadol hydrochloride tablet, MRSU 6196764 loaded with 660 cartons of drugs and MRSU 3516384 loaded with 554 cartons of tramadol capsules BP 120 respectively were intercepted based on intelligence reports from the Customs Intelligent Unit ( CIU ) of the command on February 6, 2018
In the same vein, he revealed that another 1x40ft container with number MRSU 6058282 suspected to be laden with over 1000 cartons of different drugs was also intercepted on February 7, 2018. The total duty paid value (DPV) of the 4x 40ft containers was N110, 016, 524.
On its content, the CAC disclosed that they contained controlled and regulated drugs which were said to have been imported by one Villa Gold Pharmacy from India.
He decried the flooding of Nigeria with adulterated drugs by foreigners, especially by Indians, even as he wondered the danger the populace would have been exposed to if the drugs laden containers made their way into the open market.
His words: “One wonders what negative impact would have resulted in the aftermath of these drugs finding their way into the larger society”.
