The Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun 1 Area Command, announced on Tuesday that it had intercepted 22,526 bags of foreign parboiled rice weighing 50kg and confiscated 392 items, including luxury buses, smuggled into the country between January and June 2023 through the Ohumbe land border.

The Customs Area Controller, Bamidele Makinde, revealed during a press briefing on the command’s performance in the first half of 2023 that the seized items had a cumulative Duty Paid Value of N1,313,628,488.

Seven suspected smugglers were apprehended during this period.

The intercepted rice was found in various border areas of the state, such as Ipokia, Ilara, and Imeko.

Makinde emphasized the command’s commitment to combating rice smuggling and other prohibited items in support of the government’s policy on local production.

The command also reported a significant increase in revenue compared to the same period in the previous year, totaling N93,301,130 from import duties, auction sales, and seized scrap vehicles.