BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted a range of illegal and endangered items along the Adamawa–Taraba axis, including five live pangolins, 15,300 litres of smuggled petroleum motor spirit (PMS), cartons of prohibited foreign soaps, and a smuggled Mercedes-Benz vehicle.
The Comptroller of Customs for Zone D Command, Bauchi, Abdullahi Shuaibu Kaila, said the seizures reflect proactive patrol efforts to enforce laws prohibiting the hunting, trafficking, and trade of endangered species and other prohibited goods.
The pangolins, fully protected under the Nigeria Customs Act (1985, amended 2016), will be handed over to Greenfinger Wildlife for their safety, as the Customs Service vowed to continue cracking down on activities that threaten biodiversity and national reputation
The items seized include 5 live pangolins, which are fully protected by the Nigeria Customs Act (1985 as amended in 2016) that cost over 1 million naira for a scale; 15,300 litres of Petroleum Motor Spirit, cartons of prohibited foreign soaps and a smuggled Mercedes-Benz car.
He assured that pangolins would be handed over to Greenfinger Wildlife for safety, the service would continue to patrol the crimes threatening biodiversity and the country’s reputation.
