Nigerian police have arrested a 39-year-old trader, Nonso Nwobodo, for a cunning scheme involving the repackaging of local rice into bags masquerading as foreign imports, all in a bid to rake in higher profits within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The dramatic arrest happened on Saturday at approximately 4:15 pm, in the bustling vicinity of Plot 740, Centenary Credentials, Durumi area of the FCT, as reported by Sahara Reporters.
MUK TV’s recent market survey, the illicit operation aimed at capitalizing on the allure of foreign rice, which commands a premium price, with a 50kg bag selling for a staggering N70,000, compared to its local counterpart priced between N60,000-N65,000.
A government insider, speaking anonymously, revealed that Nonso Nwobodo was caught in the act of repackaging locally sourced rice into bags adorned with foreign branding, a cunning ploy designed to deceive consumers into believing they were purchasing imported rice.
The source said, “Nonso Nwobodo was re-packaging local rice to a different designed foreign bags of rice with an attempt to sell them as foreign rice.
“He was arrested with 160 bags of different sizes of rice ranging from 5kg to 50kg already rebagged to look like foreign rice. 53 empty bags of local rice that had been already rebagged to foreign bags were recovered.
“While 590 new empty foreign bags of rice that are yet to be filled with rice were also recovered at the scene. Police have confiscated the rice.”
Despite attempts to obtain a statement from Josephine Adeh, the FCT police spokesperson, all efforts were in vain as she remained unreachable, further adding to the mystery surrounding this gripping saga.
