The Forward Operating Base (FOB) of the Nigerian Navy , Ibaka in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has arrested suspected smugglers with over 62 cartons of different brands of contraband drugs and 125 bags of crystalline ammonia.
They were arrested while on routine patrol around the Bendero and Uta Uyata general area as they intercepted a wooden gunboat during a stop-and-search operation laden with the contraband goods
The drugs also included 820 tubes of Pethidine (containing opium) and 24,800 bottles of Codeine syrup, en route to Nigeria from the Republic of Cameroon with the intention of smuggling the controlled substances into Nigeria.
The three arrested suspects, along with the contraband drugs and industrial chemicals, were handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Akwa Ibom State Command represented by Mr. Monday Jatau, Deputy Commander of Narcotics.
Meanwhile, the industrial chemicals were handed over to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Akwa Ibom State Command, represented by Mr. Abdulkadir Abubakar, Deputy Superintendent of the NCS, for further investigation and possible prosecution.
The Commanding Officer, Forward Operating Base Ibaka, Navy Captain Uche Aneke made this known in a statement made available to the media
He seized the opportunity to warn individuals or groups planning to engage in any form of criminality in Nigerian waters or smuggling illegal consignments into or out of Nigeria to desist immediately.
He emphasized that under the current leadership of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, FOB IBAKA remains resolute in ensuring that maritime crimes are effectively eradicated in the maritime and coastal areas of Akwa Ibom State.
The Commanding Officer also stated that criminal elements within FOB IBAKA’s area of operations, under the Eastern Naval Command’s Area of Responsibility, will continue to be detected using advanced surveillance equipment and intelligence. Such criminals will be apprehended and duly prosecuted.
He reaffirmed that Nigeria’s waters and coastal areas are not havens for illegal activities.