The Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘B’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Kaduna has intercepted 250 bags of foreign parboiled rice hidden inside a fuel tanker, in a significant anti-smuggling operation along the Yauri-Kontagora Road in Kebbi State.
The seizure, which took place on August 3, 2025, was announced on Wednesday, August 6, by the unit’s Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Customs Saidu Nuruddeen.
Acting on credible intelligence, customs operatives stopped a DAF tanker truck suspected of carrying contraband.
The tanker was escorted to Kaduna, where a thorough inspection revealed the rice, valued at ₦20.51 million in duty-paid terms, concealed within the tanker’s compartments.
Acting Comptroller, A.M Alkali commended the officers for their vigilance, stating that the operation reflects the NCS’s intensified efforts to curb smuggling and protect Nigeria’s economic interests through proactive surveillance and intelligence-led strategies.
In a related development, the unit recently handed over seized pharmaceuticals, including 58,740 sachets of medicaments and 27 cartons of banned Analgin injection, to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and 990 pieces of Riodin chemical to the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) on July 17, 2025.
These actions align with the NCS’s commitment to inter-agency collaboration and safeguarding public health.
Alkali emphasized the agency’s resolve to continue cracking down on smuggling, urging the public to support legitimate trade practices.
The NCS has vowed to sustain its efforts to secure the nation’s borders and enforce customs regulations
