The Nigeria Customs Service has seized 16,825 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 266 bags of foreign rice and other suspected smuggled goods valued at N79.86 million in Adamawa State.
The Adamawa and Taraba Area Command said the seizures were made during two months of intensified anti-smuggling operations targeting illegal routes and identified smuggling hotspots across the command.
Speaking at a press conference in Yola on Friday, the Area Comptroller, Mohammed Tako, said the confiscated items included foreign bar soap, second-hand clothing and a Mitsubishi Canter truck allegedly used to transport contraband.
Tako said officers intercepted 374 jerrycans of petrol, each containing 25 litres, along a bush path in Sahuda, near the Nigeria-Cameroon border, in the early hours of August 20, 2026.
On September 14, officers intercepted a Mitsubishi Canter truck with registration number XB 566 GML along the Wuro Alhaji-Maiha axis at about 8.10pm, following intelligence reports.
The truck was carrying 116 bags of foreign parboiled rice, each weighing 50 kilogrammes, and 50 cartons of foreign soap.
Another operation on September 21 led to the discovery of 299 jerrycans of petrol, each containing 25 litres, along an unapproved route on the Belel-Goshidan axis. Tako said the products were intended to be smuggled out of Nigeria.
He added that on October 2, officers seized 150 bags of foreign parboiled rice weighing 50 kilogrammes each, 20 bags of local maize weighing 100 kilogrammes each, and 11 bales and five jumbo sacks of second-hand clothing along a bush path on the Maiha-Mubi axis.
The comptroller said officers also discovered 451 cartons of foreign bar soap stockpiled in the bush along the bank of the River Benue during the operations.
According to him, the suspected smugglers abandoned the goods and fled into the bush when customs officers intervened.
“Confronted by the swift intervention of our officers, the suspects abandoned the contraband and fled into the bush,” he said.
Tako put the total seizures at 673 jerrycans of petrol, amounting to 16,825 litres; 501 cartons of foreign bar soap; 266 bags of foreign parboiled rice; 11 bales and five jumbo sacks of second-hand clothing; and one truck.
He said the items had a combined Duty Paid Value of N79,857,500.
The comptroller said the seizures were made under the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, including provisions relating to prohibited goods and enforcement, as well as Schedule 3 of the Common External Tariff, which contains the import prohibition list.
He urged community leaders to support customs officers and other security agencies by providing information and cooperating with efforts to curb smuggling.
Tako said the command remained committed to strengthening anti-smuggling operations and facilitating legitimate trade in line with national economic objectives.