The Nigerian Navy has arrested a total of 38 persons for various maritime offences such as smuggling, pipeline vandalism and oil theft.
The Director of Information of the Nigerian Navy, Commodore Christian Ezekobe, said in a statement on Tuesday that the NNS Makurdi arrested 22 smugglers in two boats.
Ezekobe said that the 14 of the 22 suspects were Nigerians while the others were Camerounians.
He said that the suspects and 600 bags of rice that were caught with them had been handed over to the Nigerian Customs Service for further investigation and prosecution.
He stated also that a Nigeria Navy patrol team from its Forward Operational Base in Badagry arrested six smugglers around Askere waterways in a boat on their way from Cotonou to Lagos.
According to Ezekobe, the suspects were conveying 200 bags of smuggled rice when they were arrested.
The Navy Spokesman added that another Naval Patrol team from the NNS Delta arrested 10 suspected pipeline vandals and crude oil thieves.
According to him, ‘the suspects were arrested in a speed boat and two large Cotonou boats around the SPDC Forcados area with an unquantified product suspected to be AGO.
He said that the naval operatives recovered seven outboard engines and 14 pumping machines from the suspects.
Ezekobe said further that the Navy also arrested two suspected crude oil thieves around Ugwangue Warri South West LGA of Delta State.
According to him, “Some items recovered from them are a Cotonou boat conveying 40 drums of substance suspected to be illegally refined AGO.”
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