*Recovers 408 empty drums, 756kg Cannabis Sativa

By Evelyn Usman

The Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Beecroft, has thwarted an attempt by suspected vandals to siphon petroleum products into 408 drums loaded on a wooden boat, around the Lagos anchorage.

Seven suspects on board the boat, allegedly fleeing to the Benin Republic, were arrested along with three pumping machines and eight Yamaha 40HP outboard engines.

According to the Commander of NNS Beecroft, Commodore Paul Nimmyel, the arrest was made after the Western Regional Control Centre of Falcon Eye Alignment, alerted the NNS Beecroft Quick Response Team (QRT) stationed at TARKWA BAY, on the suspicious movement of the large wooden boat.

In a separate operation the same day, two additional suspects according to the Commander, were arrested by the Base Quick Response Team around Topo, Badagry axis, while on their to assist suspected smugglers’ boats at sea. He said the suspects were found with a 40HP Yamaha outboard engine, and that their intercepted telephone conversations revealed they had been contacted to supply the engine.

Furthermore, Commodore Nimmyel disclosed that “on February 11, 2025, the Base 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,.

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

He said, “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 the maritime environment of all forms of crimes and criminality, 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 all criminal elements operating within its area of operation. Our mandate is to ensure economic activities thrive in our area of operation, so, would-be miscreants and criminals are to watch out.”

Representative of the NSCDC, Superintendent Amao Kehinde, said detectives attached to the Investigation and Intelligence Unit of the Corps would prosecute the suspects accordingly, while the large wooden boat and 408 empty 250-litre drums would be taken to the Corps’ exhibit yard in Ijora, Lagos.

On his part, NDLEA’s Acting Marine Commander, DCN Emmanuel Udoh, explained that the 28 bags of Cannabis Sativa handed over to the NDLEA would be destroyed after the investigation was concluded.