The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Western Marine Command has intercepted 36 live African Grey Parrots en route to Ghana, handing them over to the National Park Service as part of efforts against illegal trade.
The Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Odaudu Salefu, disclosed that his officers intercepted the boat while on patrol at midnight on the waterway.
This was made known via a post on the official X handle of NCS, on Saturday, March 9.
It partly reads: “The Nigeria Customs Service Western Marine Command has intercepted 36 live African Grey Parrots en route to Ghana.
“While addressing newsmen at the Command on Friday, 8 March 2024, the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Odaudu Salefu, disclosed that the seizure resulted from the command’s vast intelligence network.
“According to him, his officers intercepted the boat while on patrol at midnight on the waterway between Abongo and t-junction, “a mini search was conducted on the boat, and they discovered 36 live African Grey Parrots.
“You are aware that Nigeria is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and cannot watch some illegal traders send our animals into extinction.
“Comptroller Salefu handed over the 36 live birds to representatives of the National Park Service.”
