The Navy in PortHarcourt, Rivers State has arrested 16 alleged suspects for engaging in illegal bunkering activities. Commander of the NNS Pathfinder, Port Harcourt, Captain J.O. Okojie, who disclosed this yesterday, while parading the suspects, said the men were caught in the early hours of yesterday on the Soku water ways with a barge containing 3, 000 liters of condensate fuel.

The 3, 000 liters of fuel found with the suspects, he said, amounted to 10 petroleum tankers filled with fuel.

According to Capt. Okojie, the suspects carried out their illegal bunkering from the Cawthorn channel before they were arrested, adding that the suspects offered his officers N250,000 as inducement to set them free.

He said the navy also recovered another vessel used for illegal bunkering operations around Okrika water ways on Saturday, after the suspected owners of the vessel sighted the men of the task force.

The vessel, the navy captain, added contained 100, 000 liters of condensate fuel thus bringing the total number of condensate fuel recovered from the two operations to 400,000 liters.

He said the suspects would be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for thorough investigation and prosecution.

Assuring that the navy would continue to go tough on the crusade against illegal bunkering activities, he appealed for information from the public that would assist the navy in government’s crusade against illegal bunkering.

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