The Nigeria Customs Service yesterday shut down the warehouses of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc. and the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited at the Lagos airport over stolen donkey skins from imported from Kenya.
Sources closed to the customs at the airport said the exports warehouses were sealed off after a plot to export the contraband to China by some Chinese was uncovered.
Other prohibited items seized from the suspected smugglers included eight sacks of pangolin weighing 381 kilogrammes.
It was learnt that the NCS investigation revealed that Chinese in the country were using Nigerian seaports and airports to smuggle Kenyan treasures to their country as some Chinese have been arrested in connection with the seized items.
The suspects were allegedly planning to use Nigerian freight forwarders to ship the items to their country.
The Kenyan government is said to be worried over the continued smuggling of donkey skins out of the country by foreign nationals.
It will be recalled that the customs had in June arrested two Chinese nationals over an attempt to smuggle 678 pieces of elephant tusks and other prohibited items out of Nigeria.
The action was said to have contravened the Schedule 6 of the Nigerian Exports Prohibition List, which prescribes as illegal any attempt to export wild animals and endangered species.
Reacting to the development, the Customs Area Comptroller, Murtala Mohammed International Airport Command (MMIA), Frank Allannah, said the suspects had been remanded in custody pending further investigation.
Allannah disclosed that the impounded items would be handed over to the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency.
“Eagled-eyed Customs officials at the Export Shed of the MMIA intercepted the prohibited items while they were being taken out of the country by the Chinese who claimed ownership of the items. Upon physical examination of prohibited items, the Chinese were subsequently arrested and are still being held in custody”, Allannah said.
While the spokesman for NAHCO, Mr. Tayo Ajakaye could not comment immediately on the matter, his SAHCOL counterpart, Mr. Basil Agboarumi said investigation was still ongoing on the matter.
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