Men of the Joint Task Force, known as Operation Pulo Shield attached to 13 Brigade, Nigerian Army Calabar have announced the apprehension of 22 oil bunkerers with 162 drums of diesels at the Calabar Jetty.
It was gathered that the suspects were nabbed after siphoning the product from NNPC pipeline at the high sea and conveyed them to an empty compound around Calabar Marina.
The product reportedly belongs to one Ezekiel Nkereuwem.
Confirming the arrest, Captain Joseph James, the Army Public Relations Officer for the 13 Brigade, Calabar and the Sector Three Operation Pulo Shield said the arrest of the suspects followed an intelligence report, which led men of his team to take over the compound for their arrest.
According to the army image-maker, while some suspects were nabbed at the Marina, others were apprehended at MRS Filling Station along Mayne Avenue Calabar where the diesel was allegedly being taken to for sale.
He said: “When our men stormed the compound, they arrested some suspects along with one hundred and sixty four drums filled with diesel and one hundred and forty six empty drums in the compound.”
James disclosed that the drums of diesel were carried to MRS filling station where the diesel was emptied into surface tanks for onward loading, to be sold to other filling stations across the state.
“At the MRS Filling Station, they load these products into their surface tanks and subsequently transfer them into standby trucks and sell to other filling stations and if you accost the trucks on the way, they show you documents issued by the station that the product was bought there,” he added
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