The Operation Whirlwind of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has seized 71,965 litres of petrol allegedly intended for smuggling from Adamawa and Taraba States into neighbouring Cameroon Republic.
Operation Whirlwind, the petrol smuggling control arm of the Customs Service, said in Yola Wednesday that the seized petrol is valued at over N81 million.
During the 4th press briefing of the Operation in Zone D axis at the area headquarters of the Adamawa/Taraba Area Command of the NCS in Yola, the National Coordinator of the Operation, Husseini Ejibunu said the current report covers the period from when he addressed the press the third time last month, October 9, 2024.
“The team has witnessed the seizure of fuel with the monetary value of N81,517,570,” Ejibunu said, listing the seized items as I,124 Jerry cans of 25, 40 and 60 litres capacities each filled with PMS; 53 drums of 200-litre capacity; and 21,000 litres of PMS unveiled in two fuel tankers.
He reiterated that the total of petrol seized comes to 71,965 litres, all “intended to be smuggled into the neighbouring country, the Republic of Cameroon.”
He said apart from the seized volumes of petrol, the anti-smuggling drive of Operation Whirlwind led to the intercepting of 14 fuel tankers loaded with PMS on the ground of product diversion and smuggling.
He explained that of the 14 tankers, Operation Whirlwind handed 13 to the office of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority NMDPRA in Yola and one to the NMDPRA in Taraba for continuing interagency action.
He said it was evident that the anti-smuggling crusade of Operation Whirlwind allows Adamawa State to experience a stable supply of PMS, and that the team remains steadfast in curtailing the activities of illegal oil marketers.
