ANKARA: The Ogun State Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has seized 15,782 cartons of frozen poultry product.
The Customs Area Controller, Ogun State Command, Comptroller Haruna Mamudu, who said this in Abeokuta, the state capital, added that the figure represented three week’s seizures.
He said about 3,155 cartons of frozen turkey worth about N16.7m were confiscated at the Idiroko border area during the week.
The comptroller added that the total market value of the 15, 782 cartons of frozen poultry product was about N63.1m.
Mamudu explained that the seizure was the proof that the command had closed in on smugglers, especially at the border towns of Imeko and Ihunbo.
He added that the seizure was also the outcome of ‘Operation Hawk Descend’ inaugurated on July 7 by the Comptroller- General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Abdullahi Dikko Inde, at the Seme border to check the movement of contrabands into the country.
Mamudu explained that the cartons that were seized during the week were concealed inside false compartments built inside five trucks.
He said, “Our operatives at the border town had at first mistaken the trucks for those conveying frozen fish, but it was during a thorough inspection of the vehicles that the drivers took to their heels.
“The cartons of turkey were smartly concealed inside the trucks. But by the time our operatives opened the false compartments, the drivers fled, leaving everything behind.”
Mamudu advised Nigerians to shun consumption of illegal poultry product, adding that apart from the negative effects of the contraband on the economy of the nation, it also posed health risk to its consumers.
He said, “We will ensure that not even one carton of this banned product is allowed to be smuggled into Nigeria. Did you know that the chemical used to preserve these frozen products is the same one used for embalming dead bodies?”
