The Nigeria Customs Service, Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, has intercepted a wildlife trafficker smuggling 111 live African grey parrots into the country from Cameroon.
The suspect was reportedly caught transporting the parrots through the Gurin international border in Fufore Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
According to the NCS, the birds were concealed in six wooden boxes during the illegal cross-border movement.
Addressing journalists in Yola on Wednesday, Customs Area Controller for Adamawa and Taraba States, Garba Bashir, explained that trade in African grey parrots has been outlawed due to the rapid decline in their population, a trend attributed to unchecked trafficking.
“Poaching methods are often brutal and a high percentage of captured birds die before even reaching export sites,” Bashir stated.
Following the seizure, the parrots were officially handed over to representatives of the World Parrot Trust at a brief ceremony.
In a separate development, the Area Command also transferred a large haul of illicit drugs confiscated from smugglers to the Adamawa State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
The intercepted substances included 5,710×10 sachets of 100mg tramadol capsules, 990×10 capsules of 50mg tramadol, and 185 packets of 5mg benzhexol tablets.
In addition, the command confiscated significant volumes of petroleum products allegedly destined for illegal export, 13,200 litres of petrol and 1,925 litres of diesel, which were packed in 528 and 77 jerry cans of 25 litres each, respectively.
“These Petroleum products were packed in 528×25L and 77×25L jerry cans respectively, intended to be snuggled out of the country,” Bashir said.
The Customs boss revealed that within just three weeks, the command recorded 19 seizures across various parts of the command’s territory, with an estimated monetary value of ₦67,785,358.
“The interceptions were made in different locations across the command’s frontiers,” he added, noting that a significant number occurred within Adamawa State.