By Seyi Odewale
No fewer than five suspects involved in the criminal diversion of a truckload of sugar belonging to the Bua Group, conspiracy, and stealing have been arrested in Rivers State by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Eastern Ports, Port Harcourt, and 118 bags of sugar recovered.
The Commissioner of Police, Eastern Ports Command, Jimoh Moshood, who disclosed this in a press briefing yesterday in Port Harcourt, said significant achievements in crime prevention and control, which prompted detection and investigation, and successes have been recorded from investigations of crimes and criminality in the Eastern Ports.
According to Moshood, the five suspects, Nicholas Ibe, a 49-year-old resident of 5 Community Road, Ibeto; Ibrahim Musa, a 26-year-old truck driver from Plateau State; and Austine Ameibe, a 43-year-old record keeper from Upe Borokiri, are some of the suspects in the criminal diversion of the truck.
Others, according to Moshood, are Prince Titus, a 24-year-old resident of Upe Street, Borokiri, and Isaiah Okongwu, a 22-year-old resident of Bana Street, adding that on October 1, 2024, at about 0350hrs, Police operatives attached to the Rivers Ports Police Division acting on actionable intelligence, swooped on a location within Rivers Port where a truckload of sugar belonging BUA Terminal was diverted and sugar being re-bagged into different bags.
He said, “The four suspects listed above were arrested in the act. A total of 118 bags of sugar were recovered from their possession. All the suspects have confessed to the crime and made useful statements helping the Police further investigate the matter.”
He added, “Meanwhile, efforts are being intensified to arrest other suspects. The 118 bags of sugar have been released on bond to the BUA Group because they are perishable goods. All the suspects will be charged to court upon completion of the investigation.”
Also, the commissioner said his command foiled an attempt to commit vandalism of port facilities and recovery of exhibits; listing exhibits recovered to include four wooden boats, one filled cylinder, one 2kg cooking gas cylinder, and a set of fire hoses.
He said, “On October 2, 2024, at about 0154hrs eagle-eyed police operatives of the Command Marine Unit on patrol of the NPA Waterfront foiled an attempt by some vicious hoodlums to vandalize Quay Aprons under NPA Berth 5 criminally.
“The suspects, who had positioned themselves under the berth in five (5) wooden boats ready to commence the criminal activity, were forced to abandon their wooden boat and equipment and escaped through the sea on sighting the patrol team.
“The unrelenting police operatives, after an unsuccessful effort to apprehend the suspects, recovered the abandoned boats and the equipment as exhibits. An ongoing investigation is being conducted to arrest the fleeing suspects and bring them to justice.”
He said there was also an attempt on July 20, 2024, to commit vandalism of port facilities leading to the arrest of a suspect and the recovery of exhibits.
Other attempts at vandalizing the port and arrests by the Police were also made, which Moshood said his men foiled.
