Smugglers: Customs Seized PMS Worth N72,621,500 In Adamawa

Smuggling : Customs seized PMS worth N72,621,500 in Adamawa

From Umar Dankano, Yola.

In its relentless fight against smuggling activities in the Nigeria’s territorial borderlands, the Nigeria Customs service has seized petroleum motor spirit (PMS) with duty paid value worth N72,621,500. in Adamawa state.

Comptroller of the Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, Compt. Garba Bature Bashir made the disclosure at a  press conference in Yola Wednesday, reaffirming his Command’s  relentless crackdown on the smuggling activities in the area.

“In Adamawa and Taraba States, smugglers will not have fresh air. We have started strangling them, and we will continue to strangle and suffocate them until smuggling activities are purged out of the states,” the Comptroller declared.

According to Bashir, working on intelligence and technological driven innovations, Customs operatives  on March 8, 2025  intercepted a Toyota Corolla loaded with petrol (PMS) at the Fufore-Gurin axis, preventing an attempt to smuggle the fuel into a neighbouring country.

He stated that, Five days later, on March 13, 2025, Customs officers raided the Jimeta waterside (Bakin Kogi) along the River Benue, uncovering 240 drums of petrol, each containing 220 litres, which were about to be illegally transported to Cameroon.

He added that another major seizure was recorded on March 14, 2025  when intelligence-led operations at Fufore-Gurin led to the recovery of 425 jerry cans of PMS, each holding 25 litres.

“In total, 70,175 litres of petrol were confiscated, alongside the seized vehicle, further crippling the illicit fuel trade in the region”.

The Comptroller credited these achievements to enhanced intelligence sharing, technological leverage, capacity building, and coordinated border Management.

“Nigeria Customs Service is out to facilitate legitimate trade and is ever ready to crack down on smuggling cartels for the nation’s economy to have fresh air,” he stressed.

The Comptroller called on patriotic citizens to report any suspicious trans-border activities and urged the media to intensify advocacy against smuggling.

“Smuggling has eaten deep into the nation’s economy and undermined our security. For a better and prosperous Nigeria, we need the unwavering support of all Nigerians in this fight—it is not a one-man business,” he added.