Operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have seized 150 smuggled drums of petrol in Akwa Ibom.
The NSCDC Commandant in the state, Yusuf Imam, confirmed the incident during a press conference on Saturday in Uyo.
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He said the civil defence corps arrested two suspects on Thursday and seized five engines and one pumping machine used to steal petroleum products, adding that the Marine Unit of the Command acted on intelligence and arrested the suspects on the sea as they conveyed the products in a wooden boat on their way to Cameroon.
“The marine unit of the NSCDC arrested two suspects and impounded 150 drums of PMS conveyed in a large wooden boat on the high seas in the Ibeno local government area of Akwa Ibom,” he said.
“The arrests and subsequent impounding of the exhibits took place in the early hours of Thursday. Acting on credible intelligence, the NSCDC marine squad led by Jamilu Mohammed Adamu hit the waterways with the corps’ gunboat, chased and intercepted the boat very close to the Atlantic Ocean while attempting to smuggle petrol into Cameroon.”
The Commandant warned that the corps would make the area a living hell for oil thieves, noting that all acts of economic sabotage and vandalism in the state will be dealt with.
“It’s not going to be business as usual in my time. I am here to work, and you can expect to see more of this as we will make Akwa Ibom a living hell for vandals, illegal bunkers, and oil thieves,” he said.
