Frozen poultry products worth over N12 million was seized during the first week of “Operation Hawk Descend” in the South Western axis of Nigeria – Benin border.

“The seizures consist of 1,803 (One Thousand, Eight Hundred and Three) cartons of the banned products confiscated in the operation,” Wale Adeniyi, Public Relations Officer of Nigeria Customs Service, said yesterday in a statement in Abuja.

“Most of the seizures were made when commercial vehicles conveying them were apprehended by Customs Officers. However, a significant number were made on the Iyafin Badagry waterways on the Lagoon that stretches through the Nigeria – Benin Border,” he said in the statement issued in Abuja.

Adeniyi gave the breakdown of the 1,803 cartons seizure made are as follows:

a) Federal Operations Unit - 975 cartons

b) Seme Command - 461 cartons

c) Oyo/Osun Command - 247 cartons

d) Western marine Command - 110 cartons

“Assessing the first week of the operation, the Comptroller-General of Customs acknowledged the support of border communities in effecting the seizures. He commended them for obliging Customs patrol Officers reliable intelligence about the activities of Poultry Products smugglers and cold room operators.

He urged Hotel and Restaurant owners, Fast food outlet operators and Barbecue sellers to shun smuggled chicken, noting that the protection of the Nigerian Poultry Sector is the responsibility of all,” Adeniyi said.