Lagos June 8th, (URHOBOTODAY) The National Taskforce on combating illegal importation and smuggling of goods, small arms, ammunition and light weapons, has said it intercepted a boat loaded with devices suspected to be explosives along the Andoni River in Rivers State.
Director General of the taskforce, Chief Osita Okereke, told journalists in Port Harcourt that the explosives, believed to have been smuggled into the country, were handed over to the State Police Command last Monday.
Okereke stated that the smugglers saw the members of the task force from afar and decided to off-load the dynamite into the river and took-off, adding that the taskforce divers immediately got into the river and brought out some of the explosives.
He said the explosives had already been bargained for by an undisclosed buyer for N8 million before the arrival of members of the task force, saying that the smugglers ran into the task force while transporting the explosives to the unknown buyer.
Okereke, who is also the President of Importers Association of Nigeria (IAN), used the forum to call on security agency to join hands with the taskforce to tackle the issue of illegal importation and smuggling of goods and weapons in the country.
He, however, frowned at the attitude of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu, who refused to see him for over one hour after he came with representatives of various media organisations, to officially hand over the intercepted explosives to the Police.
Source: THISDAY