Customs officials in the Adamawa/Taraba Area Command on Tuesday paraded the seizures in Yola, revealing how smugglers increasingly use commercial trucks and everyday consumer brands as cover to illegally ferry subsidised fuel out of Nigeria.
The Nigeria Customs Service has uncovered a smuggling operation involving a Pepsi Cola–branded truck allegedly used to disguise and move thousands of litres of smuggled petrol (PMS) across border routes in Adamawa and Taraba States.
Customs officials in the Adamawa/Taraba Area Command on Tuesday paraded the seizures in Yola, revealing how smugglers increasingly use commercial trucks and everyday consumer brands as cover to illegally ferry subsidised fuel out of Nigeria.
According to the Area Controller, Comptroller M.A. Tako, the Command, acting on intelligence-led operations, intercepted multiple consignments of smuggled PMS between December 2025 and January 2026.
The biggest haul was recorded on January 10, 2026, when officers intercepted a Pepsi cola Mercedes-Benz 911 truck, reportedly disguised as a beverage haulage vehicle, along the Ndaforo–Abong axis of Taraba State, loaded with 625 jerrycans of PMS.
Customs said the seizures cut across notorious smuggling corridors including Mubi–Sahuda, Daware–Fufore, Fufore–Gurin and Wuro Bokki, where smugglers allegedly operate mostly at night to evade security checks.
In total, the Command seized 1,868 jerrycans and one large drum containing about 50,495 litres of petrol, alongside bales of secondhand clothing, with a Duty Paid Value of over N58 million.
The Customs boss warned that the Service would no longer tolerate the use of branded trucks, food and beverage vehicles, or other commercial fronts to sabotage Nigeria’s economy, stressing that those involved would face the full weight of the law under the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.
He said the operations were carried out under legal provisions empowering Customs to intercept, seize and forfeit petroleum products being illegally exported, adding that intelligence surveillance across border communities has been intensified.
Customs also issued a stern warning to smugglers and their collaborators, insisting that no route is safe and no disguise will shield offenders as enforcement tightens.
The Service commended its officers for vigilance and thanked sister security agencies for collaboration, while urging the public to support efforts to curb fuel smuggling that continues to drain national resources.