A middle-aged clearing agent, Okechukwu Ndubuisi, was on Thursday paraded by the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Maritime Zone, AIG Mohammed Kastina for allegingly importation of contraband goods and economic sabotage.
The suspect was arrested by the Marine Police at Ikorodu following an intelligence with a trailer marked Enugu XG 509 ENG, carrying a container with No MSKU 1345933, having been cleared by the Nigeria Customs at the Lagos port.
The container, which had goods such as Toyota Camry 2010 model, used auto motor spare parts, used tyres, furniture, several motor spare parts and house appliances, originating from Dubai, worth several millions of naira, was also under-declared, leading to the payment of lower duties.
The suspect, who was remorseful however felt sorry for the deeds, confessing that it was his first time of falling into such incidents in his over 20 years work as a clearing agent.
But AIG Kastina said the interception of the container with the offensive materials was a major breakthrough by the marine police, which had sent a signal that the command will not condone with any shady deals in the nation’s territorial waters.
According to him, because of the international dimension of the crime, since the main culprit is based in Dubai, the command will be collaborating with the Interpol and the customs for further investigations. He also said the suspect, who had been cooperative will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.
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