At least, two Customs officers from the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) were felled by smugglers’ bullets as the anti-smuggling commands recorded 3,071 seizures in 2011, even as the command effected the arrest of 442 suspects.

The head of the command, Victor Dimka, who disclosed this last week in Lagos, also stressed that he had equally achieved paradigm shift in the performance of commands statutory duties, which resulted in the arrest of smugglers with high caliber individuals.

“The command, during the 2011, recorded several high profile seizures and the arrest of persons in connection, which clearly showed a paradigm shift from the record of the preceded year of 2010.

“A total of 3071 seizures of assorted contraband goods were effected during the year under review with a duty paid value (DPV) of N2, 654, 847, 564. Furthermore, the unit also had a total of 442 suspects, six convictions with several pending court cases.

Comparatively speaking, whereas a total of 2612, with a DPV of N1, 942, 885, 096 was realised in 2010; the 2011 figure clearly indicates a geometric progression in our seizure profile with more than 60 percent increase.

“However, this feat was achieved through the inspiration and support of the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) and his management team who gave us the necessary tools of work, through staff remuneration, provision of functional operational vehicles and capacity building, which are evident all over”, Dimka explained.

The FOU boss described the smugglers as very desperate persons whose desperation to smuggle had resulted in the commands having to frontally confront them, with severe consequences which included the death of two Customs officers, while at least four others were severely injured.

“I regret to announce the loss of two vibrant officers when four others sustained injuries, as a result of gun shots. However, the unit is more determined than ever to check the excesses of these smugglers, irrespective of their natural tendency or hostility” he indicated further, lauding the collaborative and supportive efforts of some sister security agencies and major maritime stakeholders which include the Nigerian Police Force which helps to rid the ports of miscreants and unpatriotic elements whose past activities had posted a lot of challenges to Customs effectiveness.