The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) declared that its no
longer a rumour that plastic rice exist in the country, just as NCS seized some
102 bags of plastic rice branded “Beat Tomato Rice” with no date of
manufacture, reports NaijaAgroNet.
The Customs Area Controller for the Federal Operations Unit
(FOU), Comptroller Mohammed Haruna, made this disclosure in Lagos, Tuesday in
Lagos and said that the commodity was stored for distribution as Yuletide gifts
for the public.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), he also said
that officers of the unit intercepted the plastic rice along Ikeja area on
Monday, adding that a suspect was arrested in connection with the seizure.
“Before now, I thought it was a rumour that the plastic rice
is all over the country but with this seizure, I have been totally convinced
that such rice exists. We have done the preliminary analysis on the plastic
rice. After boiling, it was sticky and only God knows what would have happened
if people consumed it.
“I advise those economic saboteurs who see yuletide season
as a peak period for nefarious acts to desist from such illegal business. The
unit has decided other operational modalities that will make them run for their
monies and count their losses,” Haruna insisted.
He described smuggling as a global phenomenon, adding that
such act could not be curbed entirely but could be brought to its barest
minimum.
Haruna appreciated well-meaning Nigerians who provided the
service with prompt information that led to the discovery of the bags of
plastic rice.
The controller, however, advised the media to educate the
public on the existence of plastic rice, adding that it was no longer a rumour.
Haruna assured the public that the distribution point of the
particular plastic rice seized by the unit had been blocked with immediate
effect.
He said that investigation was still ongoing and the unit
would hand-over the plastic rice to the National Agency for Food and Drug
Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for proper investigation.
Isaac Oyimah/GEE with additional reports from NAN
... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology