The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Saturday arrested five suspected pipeline vandals in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State.
The corps also recovered two tankers containing 33,000 litres of crude oil each from the suspects on the Benin-Warri expressway.
The State Commandant, Chuka Akubuiroh, who confirmed the arrest, identified the suspects as Yahaya Ibrahim, Ibrahim Yusuf, Yusuf Mohammed, Andrew Iyesu and Usman Alli.
Akubuiroh said the command got wind of the plan of the suspects to convey the petroleum product, following a tip off.
He also said the tankers with number plates ABH 264 XA and ABS 186 XA, respectively, had been impounded, while the suspects would be charged to court at the end of investigations.
“These tankers contain what we suspected to be crude oil and they may have tampered with a pipeline somewhere.
“When we got wind of this movement sometime last week, we mounted a 36-hour surveillance and it yielded result; only this morning, our men were able to trap them,” Akubuiroh said.
“They are in our custody now and further investigation is ongoing to ascertain where and how they got the product before they face prosecution in court.
“You know these suspects always put up a strong defence. They tell lies just to cover up but we are investigating,” he added.
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