LAGOS MAY 31ST (URHOBOTODAY)-The Nigerian Maritime Police on Monday paraded the trio of 24-year-old Ahmed Azeez, 33-year-old Tunde Yagba and 33-year-old Ajose Kehinde at the Marine Command, Lagos.
The fourth suspect, 25-year-old Adewale Sunday supposed to be paraded with the aforementioned was hospitalized following an ulcer he developed due to lack of food inside the ship.
The four suspects were arrested in connection with attempt to stowaway in Malaysian bound cargo vessel.
Urhobotoday reliably learnt that the police was able to arrest the suspects following a tip off from the Amphibious Ambush Squad of the Marine Command led by the Officer-in-charge of Marine Command, DSP Ben Ogungbure who began to track their movement.
“ The tracking paid-off as the suspects were arrested and during preliminary interrogation, it was discovered that the suspects have in the past traveled to Brazil, South Africa and some even Canada before they were deported,” a police source who did want his names told Urhobotoday.
Speaking with newsmen, Assistant Inspector General of Police, Maritime Police Command, Muhammed Katsina said it is a case of self human trafficking and stowaway of four young Nigerians who conspired with a criminal motive to travel out of the country without proper documentation.
He disclosed that the suspects, all indigenes of Snake Island Village behind Tincan Island Port, Lagos, conspired with an intent to commit felony, adding that they stole a canoe under the cover of darkness and paddled it to a Malaysian-bound cargo ship MV Maersk Casablanca.
“The vessel was berthed at Tincan Island Port and they trespassed into the vessel. They dived into the water and sneaked through the propeller into the manhole, where they hid themselves in a small compartment.
“It happened that 23 hours after the ship had sailed out, my intelligence group from the Amphibious Ambush Squad (AAS) from alerted me of the presence of some strange elements in the vessel.
“We quickly alerted our operatives at Onne Port, in collaboration with the men of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) who played a commendable role and they were found and arrested. One of them, Adewale was bleeding profusely as a result of injury he sustained in the process while sneaking into the vessel,” he disclosed.
Katsina said upon interrogation of the suspects, it was discovered that the particular route they took was an easy corridor for human trafficking, drug peddling, gun running, piracy, smuggling and hostage taking.
“From the account of the suspects, this had been a recurring phenomenon in the maritime environment as most of them claimed to have previously gone through this process to South Africa, Spain, and Canada only to be deported.
“Therefore, we would redesign the methodology of our operation by seating with the Nigerian Navy, NIS and other sister agencies to cover the maritime environment. So that whenever they want to use this corridor to commit crime, they will be arrested and prosecuted within the ambits of the law.”
Ascribing the arrest of the suspects to positive fallout of the Basic Marine Operation Course (BMOC) 39 which its officers undertook at the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Quorra., Katrina explained, “The BMOC was a joint collaboration, which saw the police, undertakes trainings in counter maritime crimes like pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft and was targeted at developing capacity for marine and riverine operations for personnel of the police marine wing.
“For twelve weeks, fourteen Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASP), six inspectors, four sergeants and sixteen corporals were trained in areas of operations/jurisdiction in the internal waters best practices in seamanship, navigation and other specific areas of maritime operations.”
He recalled that in his maiden speech upon his assumption of office as AIG Maritime, he made a pledge to empower a wide range of security architecture to cover maritime environment, the waterways and littoral communities.
“Now, we are gradually dominating the maritime environment through our network of intelligence, which is very active,” he affirmed.