text: Border Closure: Smugglers Devise New Methods To Beat Customs – 501 Xclusive
  Investigations by Saturday Telegraph reveal that the illegal dealers in the commodities now engage the services of motorcyclists and canoe operators to convey bags of rice and cartons of vegetable oil from Benin Republic to Nigeria. An undercover operation by our correspondents, who were embedded among the smugglers, exposes the covert and deadly operation of the men of the underworld, showing how they bypass the borders by going through the sea and land using remote villages. On the sea, our reporters witnessed how a team of smugglers paddled their canoes in very dangerous manner, along the Cotonou- Badagry beaches, passing through places like Gbetrume and Inagbe to beat the eagle-eyed Customs officials. Some of the smugglers are also armed in the process as they ferry their illegal products in a combat steady manner, as narrated by one of the smugglers.
  Pretending to be smugglers, our reporters had approached some canoe paddlers for help to take their wares to the other side of the sea.
  Further investigations show that some Customs officials as well as drivers and haulage staff of some big and international companies are involved in the ongoing illegalities. Our correspondents did not only see how big trucks were allowed into the country, but also witnessed how they smuggled bags of rice,turkey and vegetable oil, using the cover of their business empires. On the particular day, convoy of trucks belonging to cement, paint, shoes and other manufacturing companies were seen packing the smuggled products into their vans.
  One of our reporters, pretending to be a smuggler, had approached some of the drivers, who narrated how they have been 'helping' others to convey their goods across the border, before agreeing to take her bags of rice across the border for a fee. One of the drivers explained that the Customs officials would be compensated by their bosses once the goods arrive their destination. He said: "When we are stopped by the Customs people, we will just tell them that the rice belongs to the white men, our ogas, and that it is for their domestic consumption. They know how they get their money from our bosses.
  Traders across the country have said that following the closure of the country's borders, the demand for local rice has increased, occasioning widespread scarcity in some states. Most of the shops visited by our correspondents in different towns showed that there were limited stocks of local rice on sale.
  Posted in Inside Naija, NewsTagged #Border Closure: Smugglers Devise New Methods To Beat Customs
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