The Nigeria Customs Service [NCS] says it seized two Peugeot J5 buses conveying 3,593 kilograms of Indian hemp into Nigeria from Benin Republic.

The service said the hemp, worth N237,138,000, was seized at Bakuro/Budo-Aiki, a border station in Baruten local government area of Kwara State on 8 February 2020.

The Kwara NCS area command controller of Customs, Mr Hussein Ahmed, told newsmen at a press briefing in Ilorin on Wednesday that the seizure was the biggest made in recent time by the command.

Ahmed said that the Indian hemp was wrapped with rags and concealed in 48 sacks adding that the hemp was intercepted through intelligence report.

The controller said that between August 2019 and January 2020 when the command was created, it seized 953 bags of foreign rice, 4,357 bags of mosquito coil, 184 Jerry cans of 25 kilograms of Petroleum products all valued at N448,431,500.

He said that no suspects were arrested adding that both the owners of the Indian hemp and the drivers conveying it took to their heels immediately they sighted the men of the customs service.

Ahmed said that the Customs would continue to do everything humanly possible to stop the smuggling of dangerous substance into the country to guarantee great and promising future for the youth.

He said,

“Right now, the Indian hemp is in our costody, but we are going to hand it over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) which is in charge of dealing and regulation of such products.”

Speaking on revenue generation, the controller said that the command generated the sum of N4,007,321,883.02 during the period adding that the feat was achieved as a result of sensitization, engagement of stakeholders, introduction and implementation of NICIS 11.