Beluchukwu Chinweuba
The Headquarters Monitoring Team Idiroko of the Nigerian customs has seized huge foreign poultry products valued at N4,590,000 (four million, five hundred and ninety thousand naira only), according to information released by the Controller Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, Deputy Comptroller Turaki Usman Adamu.
Adamu said that a Headquarters Monitoring Team in charge of Idiroko Axis led by Assistant Comptroller Yahaya Usman Biri, while acting on a tip off, intercepted one Iveco truck with registration no: XA 831 GAR along Sagamu-Ijebuode expressway carrying offending and prohibited goods.
‘Their suspicion became apparent when on interception; two (2) male occupants of the vehicle jumped down and absconded’ he said.
The Controller said the truck was taken to the Government Warehouse at Ikeja where a thorough examination was conducted and revealed that 850 (eight hundred and fifty) cartons of assorted smuggled frozen poultry products was concealed with various electrical parts.
Speaking further, the Controller pointed out that the ingenuity of the smugglers to conceal with a view to escaping the eyes of the operatives makes the seizure remarkable as he commended the team for their sharp-sightedness, vigilance urging them to continue with the same momentum.
He said the command will continue to support them with logistics and operational backup whenever the need arises and promised to collaborate with the Headquarters Monitoring Teams to expose the clandestine intelligence operations of smugglers in all ramifications.
The Controller thanked the Comptroller General of Customs Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko Inde for his overwhelming support which has created a veritable platform for effective collaborative effort of the Teams and its attendant results.
He called on Nigerians not to relent in providing the Service with necessary information that could guide our operational networks; as he assured that the identity of genuine informants will be treated with utmost confidentiality.
Meanwhile the Controller confirmed that the seized poultry products will be destroyed in the presence of relevant Agencies of Government namely: NAFDAC and Police at the destruction site today.