Two persons have been arrested by the Rivers State Government for the possession of substandard animal hide popularly called Kpomo or canda.
It was gathered that government officials intercepted a truckload of suspected substandard kpomo in Onne, Eleme Local Government Area of the state.
Addressing journalists on the arrest, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Fred Kpakol, said the import papers showed that the seized product came into the country from Madagascar.
Kpakol said that the containerised truck, which conveyed the product, came through the Onne Port, adding that it was seized and taken to the police area command in Eleme for further investigation.
He said, “We got a tip-off that some canda meat that was imported found its way into the state. We went in and found out that it had come in from the Onne Port.
“It’s was a container full of canda meat. We were able to intercept it and took it to the area command. When it was opened, it was discovered that it was adulterated and stinking. From the import paper, we found out that it came in from Madagascar.”