In a concerted effort to help check Ebola Virus Disease, The Nigeria Customs has impounded and destroyed a trailer load of bush meat, suspected to be monkey meat.
The trailer load of the illegal consignment which was being imported into the country through Jibia border in Katsina State was seized by the Federal Operation Unit “zone B” which was led by OC of the team, Assistant Comptroller, Gambo Azare, and was destroyed after it was confirmed that it was a load of smoked monkey meat.
The zone ‘B’ Comptroller, A.T.S Maina said that the Customs is not only for checking duties on imported goods but also to ensure that quality consumables are sold in the country markets.
He added that the Customs will intensify surveillance at the borders at this time of the global feared virus for safety of the citizenry. He therefore appealed to the people particularly border communities to assist the Customs with useful information to track down unpatriotic persons willing to disobey the law.
His assistant, Comptroller, Gambo Azare, briefing newsmen at the destruction site, explained that the truck driver conveying the bush meat took to his heels abandoning the vehicle when the trailer ran into a ditch, after a hot chase by his men.
He added that when the consignment was intercepted, the National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC) when intimated, advised that the seized item be destroyed within 24 hours.
According Azare, “We linked up relevant sister agencies and we were advised by NAFDAC to ensure its destruction within 24 hours.”
Abdullahi Dikko, a comptroller general also said that the Customs have never faced daunting challenges such as this in its history like in the recent times.
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