Operatives of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Beecroft have arrested nine suspected pipeline vandals attempting to syphone fuel around Takwa Bay, Lagos.

The operatives, the Navy said, recovered 408 drums, three pumping machines and eight Yamaha 40HP outboard engines loaded on a wooden boat fleeing to Benin Republic with seven suspects onboard, around the Lagos anchorage.

Commander NNS Beecroft, Commodore Paul Nimmyel stated this at a press conference in Apapa, Lagos.

According to him, the arrest was made on February 10, following an alert from the Western Regional Control Centre of Falcon Eye Alignment to NNS Beecroft’s Quick Response Team (QRT) stationed at Tarkwa Bay, on the suspicious movement of the large wooden boat.

He said the other suspects were arrested on the same day around Topo in Badagry, while on their way to assist the suspected smugglers’ boats at sea.

The commander said the suspects were found with a 40HP Yamaha outboard engine, and that their intercepted telephone conversations showed they had been contacted to supply the engine.

The Nation reports that pipeline vandalism and oil theft around Takwa Bay and the entire System2B channel had continued despite efforts by security forces to curb the menace.

Continuing, Nimmyel said operatives of the Base on  February 11, intercepted 28 bags of cannabis sativa weighing over 756kg around Long Jetty, Ibeche Beach.

“No suspect was arrested, as they fled upon sighting the QRT,” he said.

Handing the suspects and recovered exhibits to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA0 Commodore Nimmyel warned criminals to stay off the Base’s area of operation or face the same fate.

“It is important to highlight that the success of these operations underscores the unwavering commitment of NNS Beecroft to enforce the mandate of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, to rid maritime sector of crimes, either singly or in collaboration with other security and law enforcement agencies.

“I will, therefore, use this opportunity to warn perpetrators of illegal oil bunkering and illicit drugs to desist from such acts, as NNS Beecroft will not rest on its oars in pursuing criminal elements operating within its area of operation,‘‘ he added.