Customs seize 20 containers of expired tomatoes in Lagos

Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCoS) have  discovered 1,600 drums of expired tomato concentrate stashed in 20 containers.

The illicit shipment was confiscated at the Lagos Port and Terminal Multi Services Limited (PTML), and one suspect was apprehended.

The cargo is reported to belong to a company called Nikecristy Investment Limited, according to the Acting Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi.

Adeniyi led journalists around the seizure while speaking at the Port and Terminal Multi Services Limited (PTML).

“On the 8th of August, 2023, during a routine examination, our vigilant officers at PTML uncovered each of the 20 containers laden with 80 drums were falsely declared as an almond shell to be a cache of expired tomato concentrate, deemed unsafe for human consumption,” he stated.

He stated that the containers that were imported from Spain have a duty-paid value (DPV) of over N116.2 million.

“The audacity of the smugglers to attempt to introduce this hazardous product into the Nigerian market is both shocking and disheartening.

“As of now, all these containers remain in our custody, officially recorded as seizures. We have apprehended one suspect, Mr. Okonkwo Oliver Izunna, who is currently under administrative bail but remains under investigation,” he said.

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