The Federal Operations Unit, Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has disclosed that its officers intercepted 7,250 bags of rice, with laboratory test conducted by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), adding that about one thousand of the bags of rice named SIMBA contained Lead (a soft heavy toxic malleable metallic element); thereby making them unfit for human consumption.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos on Thursday, Customs Area Controller of the Unit, Acting Controller Hussein Ejibunu, also said that the unit seized 55,800 litres of PMS, 73 bales of used clothes, 82 units of used fridges, 104 pieces of compressors, 143 bales of new textile, 1,264 pieces of used tyres, 156 cartons of frozen poultry and 7,960 pairs of new shoes amongst others.
According to acting Controller Ejibunu, “Pursuant to the Federal Government’s policy that encourages local production of rice against the importation of foreign parboiled rice, this Unit had seized 7,259 (of 50 kg each) bags of rice, which is an equivalent of over twelve (12) trucks load.
“Sequel to a laboratory test analysis on some of the seized foreign parboiled rice by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), one of the test parameters indicated some contents of lead (a soft heavy toxic malleable metallic element) in the tested rice; making it unfit for human consumption.
“Consequent upon this laboratory analysis on the foreign parboiled rice; as a responsible government agency, we are letting Nigerians know that apart from the negative economic impact of importing foreign rice into the country, some of these imported rice are unhealthy for human consumption. Thus, we advise consumers to desist from patronizing the federal government banned foreign parboiled rice.”
