The Nigerian Navy has paraded 18 suspects arrested
for alleged illegal bunkering of diesel and smuggling of contraband rice in
Akwa Ibom State.
The Commanding Officer, Forward Operating Base
(FOB) in Ibaka, Mbo Local Government Area of the state, Captain Reginald Adoki,
paraded the suspects; 12 crew members arrested for illegal bunkering of diesel and
a seized ship.
He also said six suspects were arrested in
connection with the smuggling of 523 bags of 50kg contraband rice said to be
smuggled from the Republic of Cameroon while
three 40 horsepower outboard engines, one pumping machine, one wooden
boat and 52 empty plastic drums were also seized.
Adoki handed over the items seized including, the
ship and the suspects, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Ibaka, saying the Navy was determined
to rid the coastal environment of
illegal maritime activities.
According to him, "The vessel, NV Sword Fish 5,
with 12 crew members was arrested by the Nigerian Navy in Ibaka when our gun
boat was carrying out a patrol along the Calabar River.
“The vessel was arrested while it was conducting
illegal bunkering of substance we suspect to be diesel to another platform
without due authorisation.
"At the time of arrest, we were able to
confirm that the vessel had no approval for the transfer of the product it was
conducting at the time, and this violates exact regulations as regards movement
of petroleum products in Nigeria's maritime environment.
“Also, while conducting our normal patrol at about
20:40 hours last night along Mbo River, based on intelligence, we were able to
arrest a medium sized boat that was loaded with 50kg bags of rice and six
suspects.
“We would want to reinstate the continued and
unalloyed commitment of the navy to ensure that we do our work creditably to
rid our area of operations of illegal activities."
The Head of EFCC in Uyo Zone, Mr. Abdukarim Chukkoh,
while receiving the 12 suspects from the navy, said the action of the ship and
crew members is economic sabotage, and that the commission is at the forefront
of trying to tackle such crimes.
The EFCC, he said, is a body created to investigate
cases of economic crime, saying: “We see this as economic crime. We are going
to take up this matter, investigate it and at the end of our investigation, we
are going to charge them to court.”
Chukkoh lauded the cooperation of the Nigerian Navy,
which he said was a good indication that both parties are working together in
trying to achieve goal.
No comments:
Post a Comment