Frasier Suites, a second-tier brand of Frasers Hospitality located at the Central Business District, Abuja were muddled on Wednesday night, with staffs and guest present when men of the Nigeria Customs Service embarked on a raid to the hotel.
It was reported that three customs patrol vehicles marked Zone B, Federal Operation Unit and Strike Force Unit blocking the entrance to the hotel.
The customs officers impounded over 12 vehicles, which were mainly Toyota, Lexus and Mercedes Benz, it was said that the vehicles have no custom duty documents.
Some of the impounded vehicles include Toyota Prado SUV with number Rsh500R; a Benz SUV matkee Gwa665RZ; a Lexus SUV marked Eky650FA; a Benz E Class with number ABC 592 Tm and a Toyota Prado marked Abj 704CH.
Some top management of the Frasier hotel were seen pleading with the customs officers to vacate the premises.
The Nigeria customs officials, however, revealed to the management that they were acting under the instruction of the Comptroller of the unit.
A customs official who spoke to The PUNCH revealed some private information which they received, a tip-off from an informant that Luxury hotels had become the new warehouse for vehicles without custom duty.
He said, “We learnt that when we turned up the heat on car marts, many of these smugglers started hiding their vehicles in hotels”.
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“We discovered 11 exotic vehicles with unpaid duties running into millions of naira were kept in the hotel”.
A major source at Fraiser Suite also revealed that four exotic vehicles were seen at the hotel premises, adding that the owners were summoned to provide the original documents of the vehicles.
It was also indicated that the Customs officials had earlier raided some car marts in Abuja where some of the car showrooms were sealed.
The customs officials had reportedly sealed car marts in Kaduna and Sokoto States on Monday, as part of the clampdown on smuggling through the land borders by the Federal Government.
Some car dealers offices in Lagos were also raided by the officers attached to the Comptroller General’s strike Force and office attached to the Federal Operation Unit, Zone ‘A’.
An eyewitness at the hotel, Imo Ugochinyere, narrated the ordeals of the hotel’s guests in the hands of the armed officials of the NCS.
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Ugochinyere, the national spokesman of the Coalition of United Political Parties said some diplomats and military men lodged in the hotel were blocked from leaving or entering the hotel because of the siege.
He wrote, “Customs men have invaded Fraser Suite Abuja and sealed it, blocking diplomats and guests from coming in or going out.
“The affected guests include some soldiers who are lodging in the place”.
“They are harassing guests and ordering hotel workers to wake guests up from sleep to identify their cars”.
“Such barbaric actions have never been seen even during Abacha days”.