The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has commenced electronic (online) auction of contraband, including exotic cars of different brands, seized from smugglers in Imo/Abia and Edo/Delta commands.

Controller of Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Owerri, Comptroller Kayode Olusemire, who spoke in Benin on Wednesday while conducting newsmen round the latest seizures of men of the unit, said that the auction, which will be done through the internet, will be conducted every Mondays and Wednesdays for one month.

According to him, interested members of the public can log into the NCS E-Auction portal to select any of the items listed on the purchase list.

The controller said that among items to be auctioned electronically were Rolls Royce cars, Mercedes, Toyota and other vehicles of different makes as well as other intercepted goods.

He said that the recourse to online sales of seized goods was to make the process as transparent as possible. Some of the latest seizures, according to Olusemire, were eight exotic cars with duty paid value (DPV) of N161 million, over 1,000,572 bags of rice with DPV of N31 million, fake drugs, including cannabis saliva and spices with foreign names. (Daily Trust)