Nigerian authorities confiscate tonnes of fake rice 'made from PLASTIC' as officials uncover massive food scam

According to authorities, 102 bags each containing 25kg of rice were seized by customs officials
Nigerian authorities have confiscated 2.5 tonnes of fake rice - which has reportedly been made from plastic.
The rice had been smuggled into the country ahead of Christmas with sellers intending to cash in on the rush for staple food items during the festive season.
According to Lagos customs chief, Haruna Mamuda, 102 bags of the alleged plastic rice had been seized.
Officials are now attempting to trace the origin of the rice, which was brought into Nigeria in 25kg bags, branded Best Tomato Rice.
Mamuda said the rice was very sticky after it had been boiled and "only God knows what would have happened" if it was consumed.
Earlier this month, a video emerged from China reportedly showing white pieces of plastic being shredded to make fake rice inside a factory.
An undercover journalist at the Blue Ocean Network - a popular English TV channel in China - reportedly exposed Wuchang rice as mostly fake, claiming that out of the 10 million tonnes produced each year, nine million are fake.
Unconfirmed stories have suggested that people have become severely ill after consuming the plastic rice.
MNC Media broadcast the story of a woman named Dewi Septiani, 29, who said she had eaten synthetic rice after buying it from a rice porridge vendor in West Java.
She claimed to have bought six litres of rice from the traditional market stall, but said when she cooked the food, it congealed, instead of turning into porridge.
She then alleged that she became ill, along with her younger sister and nephew after eating it.
The market stall was shut down by police and the rice taken away to be tested by the National Agency of Drug and Food Control.
Results came back showing the rice contained traces of polyvinylchloride (PVC) but did not state the percentages of the synthetic material found.
But while the wild claims continue to circulate, many other tests have been carried out on the rice by public health officials, with none of them proving that the product is synthetic.
According to the Indonesia Expat, the World Health Organisation's International Network of Food Safety Authorities had confirmed that there had been no recent cases of synthetic rice.