The anti-smuggling operations of the Nigeria Customs Service, known as Operation Whirlwind (Zone D), have recorded 55 seizures of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) valued at ₦181,603,515 within the last eight weeks.

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, announced this on Thursday in Yola while parading the intercepted items during a press briefing. He was represented by the National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind, ACG Kolapo Oladeji.

According to him, the seizures were made across several smuggling flashpoints in Adamawa State, including Mubi–Sahuda axis, Farang–Belel, Gurim–Fufore, Maiha, Wuro Bokki, Ribado waterways, Muninga, and Baking Kogi.

Items intercepted include 184,006 litres of PMS packed in 2,642 jerrycans of 25 litres, 11,256 litres of PMS found stored in a filling station, and 485 drums of 220-litre capacity each, all allegedly meant to be smuggled out of the country. Two large wooden boats used for conveying the product were also seized.

Oladeji said Operation Whirlwind had deployed its full machinery across its areas of responsibility to ensure airtight border control, making it increasingly difficult for economic saboteurs to carry out their activities.

He stressed that the confiscations were necessary not only to curb economic sabotage but also to support national priorities on energy security, food security, and economic stabilization. He noted that the seized fuel would otherwise have been diverted into illicit cross-border markets, worsening domestic fuel scarcity, fueling artificial inflation, and undermining government revenue.

The Customs CGC praised border communities for providing timely intelligence reports that aided the operations, describing their efforts as acts of patriotism. He also commended officers of the Adamawa/Taraba Command and other security agencies for their collaborative role in achieving the recent successes.