The Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘C’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Owerri has destroyed goods with duty paid value of N35 million contained in a 1×40 ft trailer.
The Customs Area Controller in the zone, Mr Bukar Amajam who spoke to journalists in Owerri on Tuesday at the scene of the destruction, said his officers had been on the trail of the truck for three weeks following a tip off.
He said his men finally tracked down the vehicle at a stadium in Owerri, Imo State capital, last Sunday when all the items were confiscated with the help of sister agencies like NAFDAC, the Police and the Army.
Amajam expressed regret that in spite of efforts by customs to check smuggling, people were still bent on making quick money even at the detriment of other peoples’ live.
He said that the danger inherent in the consumption of imported poultry chicken included damage to human body organs.
“This 1×40 ft trailer load of frozen imported chicken is a huge loss to the owner.
“The danger in imported frozen chicken is the mode of preservation which is dangerous for human consumption.
“The chemical content used for the preservation can be dangerous to health,” he said.
The comptroller commended the sister agencies for their collaboration and pledged to continue to work with them to rid the state of smugglers.
Amajam said his men were better equipped, motivated and trained to track down smugglers and their collaborators at anytime and anywhere.
He advised smugglers to desist from the nefarious duties as they would always regret their actions.
Our source  reports that the 1×40 trailer load contained thousands of bags of frozen chicken which had already started decomposing.