Officers of the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Pathfinder on Tuesday handed over three Barges, Furo 1, MV Destiny Bright and an unnamed Metal Barge to the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, for further investigation.
Navy Captain A T Ebo, who handed over the equipment on behalf of the Base’s commanding officer, disclosed that the vessels were intercepted and arrested during routine patrol for alleged involvement in illegal bunkering activities.
According to him, FURO 1 was intercepted on May 3, 2017 along Gbele waterways, while MV Destiny Bright and the unnamed Barge were intercepted at Adokakiri and Cawthorne Channel open waterways respectively on April 19 and 30, 2020.
At the point of arrest, Barge FURO1 and the unnamed metal Barge were laden with unspecified quantities of substances suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil while MV Destiny Bright had unspecified quantities of suspected stolen crude oil.
The Barges and the products were towed to the Base’s Holding Bay at Rumuolumeni and Onne, Port Harcourt for safe keeping.
Mr. Ani Davis Stanley, a Principal Detective Superintendent, who received the Barges on behalf of the Zonal Head of EFCC, Usman Imam, commended the collaboration and synergy between the Navy and the EFCC. He assured that the case would be professionally investigated and the culprits brought to justice.
