HOW TO CHECK FOR FAKE TYRES-SON

The Standard Organisation of Nigeria has warned Nigerians to always check for expiry dates of tyres before purchase.

Osita Abuloma, the Director General of SON, spoke on Sunday after the arrest of two Chinese nationals for allegedly importing N5 billion worth of substandard tyres into the country.

Mr. Abuloma said the seized tyres were shipped from China and were post-dated to make them appear roadworthy.

“Because we have sensitised the public that while buying tyres, they should look out for the manufacturing date.

“These people postdated their tyres to reflect manufacturing date to be first week of January 2017, whereas the tyres berthed on Nigerian soil first week of February 2017.

“So are they saying it took them only four weeks to bring the tyres from China to Nigeria across the sea?”

Mr. Abuloma further said the fact that the tyres are tucked into one another – in groups of five – using rods to separate them would compromise their quality.

“This is because in the course of separating them from the squeeze, the wires and geometrics of the tyres will be affected.”

The Chinese suspects, identified as Tanlong and Xu Jing Yao, were arrested after a tip-off from “well meaning Nigerians,” Mr. Abuloma said.

“We acted on the intelligence we received and this was achieved as a result of inter-agency collaboration,” he said.

“The glory is not for SON alone. You can see the volume of tyres brought in and you can imagine the implication for our society if these tyres are let into the market.”

Mr. Abuloma said the seizure – 60 containers of tyres – was the agency’s biggest ever.

“As you can see, they have different types and models of tyres. They have for tricycles, trailers, buses and normal cars,” he said.

“When the tyres are separated from one another, they simply brand them to deceive unwary Nigerians. But I can assure the Nigerian public that these arrested persons will be prosecuted under the new SON Act.”