James Emejo
14 May 2008
Lagos — TNT/IAS Express, one of the leading providers of express delivery services said it has sufficient controls in place to discourage movement of prohibited items by its customers.
Speaking at a press briefing and award presentation during an official visit to IAS Express in Lagos , Mr. Treve Evans, General Manager-Associates, TNT Express, Middle East and Africa Regional Offices said , TNT has an effective screening system to monitor and intercept offending parcels which are normally returned to their countries of origin.
"There are very strict controls that we have implemented for movements into the United States particularly and our TNT security staff who work closely with the customs there to identify anything that violates the rules which we then refer back to the origin country. So, TNT is very strict on what we carry . we screen shipments to know what we are carrying", he said.
The assurance came against the backdrop of recent allegations by the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) that private courier companies in the country aid the movement of illicit materials in and outside Nigeria .
Mallam Ibrahim Mori Baba, Postmaster General, NIPOST had stated that more than 100 forged certificates and fake currencies valued at N28,810,230,644.80 in different foreign currencies were intercepted last year.
Evans described Nigeria as a key market to TNT being one of the top economies in Africa which has constantly received his organisation's focus.
"We are a corporate social responsible company and by saying that we try as much as possible to assist the government or any other organisation such as NIPOST to ensure that our customers adhere to the rules. So in no way would we ever encourage that people should break those rule. But as you can imagine, we have a large customer base, so every now and then, it is possible that something may go unnoticed but we do our best to make sure that all these things are kept under control and there are customers who adhere to all the rules and regulations in the country. There are some government agencies such as NAFDAC and the EFCC who are attached to TNT offices and what they actually do is that they check all our packages to make sure that they are not fraudulent and that they comply with all the rules and regulations in the country", said Mr. Amechi Okoye, Executive Director, Operations the company.
Mr. Evans' visit according to Mr. Effiong Nsefik-Eyo, General Manager (Express and Mail) TNT/IAS Express was informed by the need to develop relations with TNT's associates as well as "strengthen our marketing position and also grow our business and also to improve our operational strategies in terms of moving closer to the airport to enhance our service delivery".
He said the company targets N1.8bn revenue from its 2008 operations through its various value added services , including strong brand element such as speed, efficiency, global coverage, online tracking and flexibility of its products packages.
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