Five illegal oil bunkerers were arrested by troops of the 130 Battalion of the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police, Port- Harcourt Barracks, Rivers State.
The bunkerers have been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC].
The suspects comprised four men and a lady.
They are:
– Sokari Iminabo;
– Segun Olagunju;
– Uche Emmanuel;
– Obinna Ezime, and,
– Mrs Tony Patience.
They were arrested at Anyako waterside in Sama Community of Asari Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.
They were intercepted with a 30-tons truck loaded with suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil, AGO.
The truck was detected to have in-built locally constructed surface tank loaded with the AGO.
But the product was concealed with bags of animal feeds to mask the sight and odour of the AGO from possible detection.
The Nigerian Army said that its preliminary investigation revealed that the driver of the truck abandoned the vehicle and fled to an unknown destination.
He fled at the point of arrest.
The Army said this in a hand-over statement signed by Major Y.I Rena and addressed to the Zonal Office, EFCC, Port- Harcourt, Rivers State.
However, five suspects trailing the movement of the truck were arrested and their offer of a bribe to release the truck declined.
The suspects are in the custody of the EFCC and would be charged to court soon.
© Copyright 2015 www.elombah.com. Send eyewitness accounts/reports/articles to publisher@elombah.com; follow us on twitter handle @Elombah; like our Facebook page: “Elombah.com”