The Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted 52 units of elephant tusks in Mfum, a border town of Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River.
The Area Controller of Cross River/CFTZ/Akwa Ibom Command of the NCS, Ahmed Waziri, said this at a news conference in Calabar on Monday.
Waziri said the arrest was made by the operatives of the NCS in Mfum last Thursday, adding that the tusks weighing 200kg were valued at N300 million.
He said that a Cameroonian, Mohammed Ibrahim, was arrested with the items.
According o him, Ibrahim was suspected to be on his way to Lagos for onward transportation of the items to another location when he was apprehended.
He said that preliminary investigation had revealed that the suspect, who was apprehended with a Honda SUV truck with number plate FST 733 HH, specialised in the exportation of the tusks across international borders.
“The suspect has two Nigeria number plates (Lagos): FST 733 HH and (CMR) LT 214 AY. A service pistol was discovered inside the vehicle with live ammunition.
“This arrest should be a warning that Nigeria will not be used as a transit route for illicit products. They should also know that Nigeria is a signatory to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), an international agreement between governments.
“It is important our border communities wake up and live up to their responsibilities because many of such items pass through their domain in most cases without their knowledge,” he said.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.