The Nigerian Navy’s Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Ibaka, Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, has arrested five suspects and confiscated a wooden boat ladened with 18 bags of rice.
Captain Uche Aneke, the Commanding Officer of FOB Ibaka, revealed this development when he handed over the suspects and the bags of rice to the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) in Ibaka over the weekend.
Aneke disclosed that the suspects were apprehended around 6:20 p.m. on a Thursday, following intelligence received by the Nigerian Navy (FOB) in Ibaka regarding suspected smuggling activities within their area of operation.
According to Aneke, the intelligence indicated that a boat was transporting foreign parboiled rice, believed to have been smuggled from Cameroon into Nigeria, transiting through the waters under FOB Ibaka’s jurisdiction.
“We were able to intercept a wooden boat carrying 18 bags of contraband parboiled rice, concealed beneath 600 baskets of tomatoes,” he said. “Today, we are handing them over to the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) for further investigation and prosecution.”
Aneke stressed that under the leadership of Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, criminal activities would not be tolerated on Nigerian waters, and efforts to thwart such activities would persist.
He called upon naval officers and ratings to maintain the pressure on criminal elements, preventing them from conducting illegal activities that could hinder national development in Nigerian waters.
Aneke warned criminals that Nigerian waters and coastal areas were not safe havens for illegal activities, emphasizing the commitment of FOB Ibaka, under the Eastern Naval Command, to detect, apprehend, and prosecute those involved in illegal actions through advanced surveillance equipment.
The Superintendent of Customs, Kikems Danbana, expressed gratitude to the Nigerian Navy and FOB Ibaka for the ongoing synergy with the Joint Border Patrol Team Sector 1. He hoped that this collaboration would continue in the future.
He stated that the suspects and contraband would be transported to Calabar for further legal action.
