Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) yesterday arrested a Chinese, Mr. Li Chaomin, in connection with Pangolin scales with a duty paid value (DPV) of N1.73 billion.
The banned items, which were packed in 329 sacks, were impounded at Opebi area of Ikeja in Lagos.
However, Chaomin said that he got approval from Chinese government to export the banned Pangolin scales goods from Nigeria.
According to him, after several efforts to obtain permission from the Ministry of Environment to export the animal scales failed, he contacted his country.
Speaking with journalists, the Chinese said he had been trading in Nigeria since 2015 on China candles, power bank and lighters.
He said:
“Some business people approached me a few months ago that China market needed Pangolin scales which they used in producing medicines.“When I went to China, I found that the Chinese use it to produce medicines to cure various diseases.“I applied for permit in Nigeria but I was not able to get the permit… All the documents are in my email address.“I bought the pangolin plates and put them in my warehouse because I thought I was operating with legal documents.’’
