Maritime Police recovers 287 stolen containers in less than one month,
Maritime Police recovers 287 stolen containers in less than one month,
…nabs 1×40 feet container for false declaration; set to prosecute owners
Segun Oladipupo
The Maritime Police Command on Tuesday in Lagos, disclosed that it was able to recover a total of 287 stolen empty containers belonging to Maerskline and MSC in less than 30 days.
This is coming barely a month after the Assistant Inspector General (AIG), Maritime Command, Mrs Susan Horsfall assumed office.
Speaking with journalists in her office, the AIG Maritime Command, AIG Susan Akem-Horsfall said that a suspect was arrested in connection with the crime.
She added that based on intelligence gathering and credible information, men of the command on Friday, 18th August, 2023, at about 23:33hrs, intercepted a container with MRSU – 5797660 1×40 ft .
She also disclosed 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.
The police boss told newsmen that investigation 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 container contained; two used Toyota Hiace bus with chassis number TRH2019043526 and 650 packages of used auto spare parts and engines.
She stated that upon examination, the container was found to contain Robert soap, Mayonnaise, Persian rugs, among other undeclared items.
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 were 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.”
