Interstate Travel Ban: 8 illegal routes uncovered – Kwara CP

The Kwara State Commissioner of police Kayode Egbetokun on Wednesday said that eight illegal routes created by transporters smuggling passengers and goods into the state against COVID-19 restriction of state travels has been uncovered and closed by the Kwara State police command.

Egbetokun disclosed this during a meeting with members of the Federal Government Joint Technical Task team on Covid-19 in Ilorin.

To strengthen the security of the state, the police boss proposed tougher sanctions to the state government to check violation of the interstate travel ban.

However, he ordered that the new sanctions should include prosecution and conviction of transporters violating the interstate travel ban, impounding their vehicles while passengers smuggled into the state should be escorted back to their respective states.

The police boss assured that the sanctions would ease the challenges of movement of food and agricultural imputes in Kwara State.

Moreover, he explained further that despite measures put in place by security agencies to check inter states travel restriction across the state, truck drivers kept developing pranks to beat security agencies.

He said, “I still receive reports of violation of border closure restriction by truck drivers. We have closed eight illegal routes created by truck drivers but despite that, our effort is not serving as deterrent.

“They keep on smuggling passengers in different trucks. In fact, I am going to suggest to the state government that henceforth, any vehicle caught should be impounded, the vehicle should be forfeited to the state government and the driver convicted and sentenced.

“The passengers should be conveyed in other vehicles back to their respective states.”