Nearly 1,000 bags of poisonous rice were intercepted in Ogun, according to the Nigeria Customs Service.
Customs revealed this in a press conference on Thursday, saying the parboiled rice was smuggled into the country via the Benin Republic.
Hussein Ejibunu, Acting Comptroller, FoU, Zone A, stated that the rice was produced in India.
“After seizing the smuggled rice, we called NAFDAC (National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control) to conduct laboratory analysis and it was gathered that the rice named SIMBA which consists of Led substances that is poisonous to the body was produced in India,” Ejibunu said.
Similarly, in December 2016, Nigerian customs confiscated 2.5 tonnes of “plastic rice” smuggled into the country by unscrupulous businessmen.
According to the agency, the fake rice, said to be sticky after being boiled, was intended to be sold during the festive season.
Incidentally, rice is the most popular staple food in Nigeria.
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