The Maritime Police Command on Tuesday in Lagos , disclosed that it has recovered a total of 287 stolen empty containers belonging to Maersk Line Nigeria and MSC respectively , within a period of 30days.
This is coming barely a month , the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) , Maritime Command, Mrs Susan Horsfall assume duty.
Speaking with journalists in her office , the AIG Maritime Command said a kingpin in empty container theft was arrested and case charged to court.
According to her, based on intelligence gathering and credible information,men of the command on Friday,18th 2023, at about 2333hrs, intercepted a container with MRSU – 5797660 1×40 ft .
She disclosed further that improvement in intelligence gathering and deployment of cutting edge technology in policing the waterways also led to the arrest of 1×40 container on display.
Horsfall who took over from AIG Adepoju Ilori on July 18th 2023, told newsmen that information further revealed that the container was cleared with forged documents in connivance with allied security agents at the port.
The AIG reiterated that the document recovered from the suspects read that the content of the container are : two used Toyota Hiace bus with chassis number TRH2019043526 and 650 packages of used auto spare parts and engines.
Horsfall explained that two suspects namely Obiora Udenkwo,male aged 43 years and Chika Igwingu, male 49 were apprehended and on interrogation they confessed that there was no vehicle inside the container rather laden with Robert Soap and that the documents were doctored.
The AIG stated that the suspects will be charged to court for prosecution upon the completion of investigations pointing out that the police suspected that more non-dutiable items are concealed on the container.
“This unpatriotic attitude of these individuals is a deliberate attempt to hamper the economic growth of this country as well as sabotage the efforts of the president in boosting the economy and the finance base of Nigeria”,she affirmed.
While giving some of the achievements recorded in the last one month in office, Horsfall also noted that upon assumption of duty, her first activity was to address officers and men of the command to be professional and dutiful warning that “I will not tolerate any act of indiscipline as we cannot fold our hands and allow the country to run aground due to continued loss of revenue especially at the ports,not even now that there is huge debt burden on the nation.”
It was gathered that the detained Maersk Line container was laden with mayonnaise , persian rugs etc.
By Roland Ekama
