The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has impounded 292 bags of foreign rice illegally imported.
This is according to a statement by NSCDC spokesperson Babatunde Afolabi on Friday in Abuja.
According to Mr Afolabi, three suspects were arrested in connection to the crime on their way from Cotonou, Benin Republic, to Lagos while conveying the products with three wooden boats.
He said they were intercepted by operatives of the NSCDC commandant general’s marine monitoring team based on credible intelligence.
The PRO said the NSCDC boss, Ahmed Audi, had directed that the suspects and exhibits be handed over to the Nigeria Customs Service for prosecution.
He said this was in line with the extant laws of the land after preliminary investigations were concluded.
Mr Afolabi said the NSCDC boss had assured that the corps would continue to pursue its statutory functions of protecting critical national assets and infrastructure and continue in its fight against insecurity.
He reiterated the corps’ commitment to continued proactive and tactical patrol on land and sea to forestall all forms of smuggling, make the country’s waterways safe and enhance economic prosperity.
