The Rivers State Government has intercepted
a truckload of suspected substandard animal hide, popularly called ponmo,
in Onne, Eleme Local Government Area of the state, even as two persons
accompanying the truck were arrested.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Fred
Kpakol, who confirmed the incident while speaking to journalists on Port
Harcourt, said the import papers showed that the seized product came into the
country from Madagascar.
Kpakol said the containerised truck, which
conveyed the product, came through the Onne Port, adding that it was seized and
taken to the police area command in Eleme for further investigation.
The commissioner explained that the arrest
followed a tip-off and the ministry quickly swung into action with the help of
the police, adding that the state police command would conduct a full-scale
investigation into the incident.
Kpakol stated, “We got a tip-off that some
canda meat that was imported found its way into the state. We went in and found
out that it had come in from the Onne Port.
“It’s was a container full of canda meat.
We were able to intercept it and took it to the area command. When it was
opened, it was discovered that it was adulterated and stinking.
“From
the import paper, we found out that it came in from Madagascar.”
Meanwhile, the Area Police Command said it
had begun investigation into the incident.
The Police Area Commander, Martins Nwogu,
stated that those arrested with the truck claimed that the consignment was
owned by a man simply known as Alhaji and contained raw materials for the
making shoes and bags.
When contacted, the police spokesman for
the state, Nnamdi Omoni, said the command had yet to get the report, but
promised to contact the Eleme Area Command and get back to our correspondent.
As of the time
of filing this report, he had yet to get back to our correspondent.
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