Navy arrests deaf, dumb man for smuggling in A/Ibom
The Nigerian Navy, Forward Operating Base, Ibaka in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom state, has arrested a deaf and dumb suspect and 11 others for smuggling 708 bags of 50kg rice.
The deaf and dumb suspect and the other suspects were said to have been nabbed during routine operation around Efiat waterways during which the navy seized the wooden boat used in ferrying the contraband.
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Parading the suspects in Ibaka on Tuesday, the Commanding Officer of Nigerian Navy, Captain Peter Yilme during the hand-over of the suspects and items to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), revealed that the smugglers were devising new ways of evading arrest.
He explained that the navy will not relent in curtailing the illegal trade along Nigeria’s waterways despite their machinations, disclosing that when one of suspects arrested was accosted by navy gunboats, the suspects dug holes in the boat to take in water as a ploy to submerge the boat.
Yilme noted that with the continuous arrests, smuggling activities have reduced, adding that the navy is also tackling sea pirates.
The commandant who was represented by the Base Operations Officer, Lt. Commander Kabiru Yusuf, commended officers and ratings of the command for their resilience and hard work in tracking the smugglers.
“On behalf of the commanding officer, I am handing over 708 bags of smuggled rice and the suspects arrested by the navy in three different operations to the Nigeria Customs Service,” he said.
Receiving the 12 suspects and 708 bags of rice, Deputy Superintendent of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Alabi Adedokun commended the navy for the cooperation existing between the two services and for the frequent arrests.
Two of the suspects who are blood brothers from Ondo state, said the desire to survive pushed them into smuggling rice. They said they were fishermen in Cameroon, but since their trade was not bringing in enough money for them to cater for their families, they had to resort to smuggling rice, adding that the owner of the rice promised to pay them N15, 000 each.
