The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has seized frozen poultry products worth over N12 million during the first week of operation “Hawk Descend” at Benin border, recently.
In a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of NCS, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, he stated that the seizures consisted of 1,803 cartons of the banned products, confiscated during the operation
He admitted that most of the seizures were made when some commercial vehicles conveying the illegal products were apprehended by Customs Officers.
He added that a significant number were actually seized on the Iyafin Badagry waterways, on the Lagoon that stretches through Nigeria to Benin Border.
According to him “the breakdown of the seizures are; 975 carton from the Federal Operations Unit(FOU),461 cartons from the Seme Command, 247 cartons from Ogun/Osun Command, and 110 cartons seized at Western Marine Command to make a total of 1,803 cartons.
He stated that, the Comptroller- General of Customs Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi has assessed the first week of the operation and acknowledged the support of border communities in effecting the seizures.
Dikko commended them for obliging customs patrol officers with reliable intelligence about the activities of poultry product smugglers and cold room operators.
He called on hotel owners, fast food outlet operators and barbecue sellers to shun, smuggled chicken, adding that the protection of the Nigerian poultry sector is the responsibility of all.
