Nigeria: Customs Impounds 102 Bags of 25kg Plastic Rice - Update: Tainted, not plastic

[Emily]

Not sure if this is actually fabricated rice adulterated with something like melamine, or if 'plastic' is a general term for rice fabricated from cheaper starches.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201612210473.html

21 December 2016 Nigeria: Customs Impounds 102 Bags of 25kg Plastic Rice

By Eugene Agha Lagos — Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service attached to the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A, Ikeja have impounded 102 bags of plastic rice meant for distribution within the metropolis.
The bags of rice were recovered from a hidden store located in Ikeja area of Lagos.
It was gathered that the recovery was made after the Comptroller of Customs, FOU Zone, Comptroller Haruna Mammudu received an intelligence information yesterday morning about a plot by some criminal elements to distribute the rice to some designated persons in Lagos.
The Comptroller directed an intelligence team to investigate and the team recovered the items locked up in a store.
"A suspect has since been arrested in connection with the plastic rice. He has made useful statement and he is helping the team to get to the root of the matter. He actually admitted receiving the plastic rice from someone who wanted him to help distribute them to some people," he said....

[Emily]

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/219206-nigeria-releases-test-results-suspected-plastic-rice.html

Nigeria releases test results on suspected plastic rice

December 29, 2016Nike Adebowale Recent reports of plastic rice in Nigeria were untrue as the suspicious shipment merely contained a significant amount of contaminants, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has said.
The acting Director-General of the agency, Yetunde Oni, at a press briefing on Thursday in Abuja, said though the rice was found not to be plastic, contrary to media reports, it was still ?unwholesome for human consumption?.
There was anxiety in country earlier this month when a report stated that the Nigerian Custom Services had intercepted tonnes of plastic rice allegedly imported by unscrupulous businessmen for distribution during the Christmas festive period.
The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, however debunked the report after some preliminary studies revealed otherwise.
He said there was no truth in the report and assured Nigerians that there was no cause for alarm.
However, the laboratory result which was made public Thursday confirmed the earlier declaration by the minister.
Mrs. Oni however said that the rice failed other integrity test which thus ruled it out for human consumption....
...
?The target of these products is Nigerian markets. We will therefore intensify our patrols to ensure that economic saboteurs do not succeed...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38391998

No ordinary rice: Martin Patience, BBC News, Lagos

• 21 December 2016
• From the section Africa

Whoever made this fake rice did an exceptionally good job - on first impression it would have fooled me. When I ran the grains through my fingers nothing felt out of the ordinary.
But when I smelt a handful of the "rice" there was a faint chemical odour. Customs officials say when they cooked up the rice it was too sticky - and it was then abundantly clear this was no ordinary batch...