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| Mugler foreign rice intercepted by The Joint Border Patrol Team in Badagry, Lagos state |
The Joint Border Patrol Team (JBPT), Sector 2 South-West, Lagos, reported intercepting 415 bags of 50kg rice smuggled into the country via Badagry waterways.
The JBPT is made up of police, army, immigration, customs, and SSS officers who are coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Nurudeen Hassan, the Controller, JBPT, Zone 2, confirmed this during a press briefing at Gbaji checkpoint along Seme Expressway on Saturday.
According to Mr Hassan, the operation took place around 4:10 a.m. by the JBPT operating at Gbaji axis, Badagry.
"On September 10, around 4:10 a.m. The JBPT, led by CSC Dinya Sabo, acted on credible intelligence provided by the service at Gbaji Waterways in Badagry, Lagos.
"The JBPT intercepted two wooden boats carrying 415 bags of foreign parboiled rice suspected of being sneaked into the country from the Benin Republic," he said.
Mr Hassan stated that the seized rice would be transported to the government warehouse in Seme.
He praised the officers on the team for a successful operation and urged the smugglers to stop sabotaging the economy by smuggling contraband into the country.
Mr Sabo stated that his team obtained information from informants at the point of takeoff in Benin Republic.
"We intercepted them in the middle of the river and arrested the boatman and others, but when we got to Gbaji under bridge, they jumped inside the river and escaped," he said.
The 415 bags of rice were delivered to the Customs warehouse in Seme, which houses seized items.
(NAN)