Six Bangladesh Nationals and 16 Nigerians have been arrested in Calabar for alleged diversion of 22 metric tonnes of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO). The suspects were in vessel, MV Princess Oge.
The Commander of the Nigerian Navy Ship Victory in Calabar, Commodore Salihu Jibril said the ship was caught carrying out illegal activities and was immediately arrested. He said the vessel was given permission to move AGO cargo to Calabar.
While handing over the suspects and the vessel to the Police, the Commander said that the suspects indulged in illegal diversion of 22 metric tonnes of diesel in an illegal ship to ship transfer along the Calabar water channel.
“The ship was caught carrying out the illegal activity and was immediately arrested. The vessel was given permission to move AGO cargo to Calabar,” he said.
When contacted, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hafiz Inuwa, said investigation was still ongoing and would only comment after investigation had been completed.
But a top police source alleged on Tuesday that the Navy did not carry out thorough investigation before confiscating the vessel.
The source said, the receiving ship was not arrested alongside the MV Princess Oge which gave room for suspicion. “The ship had every document, otherwise, where is the other vessel that they were doing ship-to-ship transfer with?”
“There is more to the arrest. They were probably not satisfied with the security operatives they discovered aboard the ship, otherwise they did not discover anything,” the source said.
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