Customs Intercept Container Of Tilapia Fish From Turkey
The Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has intercepted a 40ft container of frozen Tilapia fish valued at N22.1 million imported from Turkey.
The Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Muhammad Jibrin, said this on Monday when he led newsmen to APM Terminals, Apapa, where the container was intercepted.
Jibrin said that the container No: DFOU6122880, was discovered during scanning.
He said that the importer made a false declaration that the container was laden with apples. “Upon scanning, officers discovered the container was containing 2,700 cartons of frozen tilapia fish from Turkey.
“The aforementioned fish species is under restriction. “More so, importers of allowable species of fish are expected to obtain licence, and permit before such importation into the country. “We have scanners that are working but most of the scanners are inadequate for operations,’’ Jibrin said.
He said that the command had opened communication with Agriculture and Plant Quarantine Service and the National Agency for Foods, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), in the spirit of collaboration.
Jibrin said that the command had zero tolerance for smuggling and false declaration in line with the policy of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Retired Col. Hameed Ali.
He said that the command would continue to uncover and stop any attempt at breaching the law as regards imports and exports transactions through the command.
The controller, however, advised stakeholders relating with Customs service to be law-abiding “as no stone will be left unturned in enforcing government fiscal policy regulations’’.
According to him, the command usually engaged stakeholders in interactive session monthly to ensure that both Customs and stakeholders remained committed to government’s policies relating to clearance of goods at the ports.
The Federal Government on Thursday, noted that smugglers were beginning to flood the markets with harmful frozen fish illegally imported into the country through the land borders.
