ABUJA: The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has seized over 112 cartons of contaminated poultry products smuggled into the country through the Katsina border.
Briefing journalists on Wednesday in Katsina, the Area Controller, Kaduna/Katsina Command, Alhaji Gidado Bala, said that the smugglers were intercepted at Dankama in Kaita Local Government Area.
Bala said that the smugglers on sighting the customs patrol team abandoned their goods and took to their heels.
He said that the frozen poultry products were discovered to be unsuitable for human consumption when examined.
Bala said that the Federal Government banned importation of poultry products in order to protect the health of its citizens and to encourage animal husbandry and poultry farming in the country.
The controller, therefore, advised smugglers to desist from such illegal business or face arrest and prosecution.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the seized items were handed over to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for destruction.
The NAFDAC Coordinator, Alhaji Habibu Garo, said that they would continue to collaborate with customs and other security agencies to curtail smuggling of dangerous products into the country.
Garo advised the public to desist from patronising imported poultry products because it posed health hazards.
