Samuel Fadeyi, the commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Cross River, says the command has confiscated 16,000 litres of stolen petroleum products.
The stolen products, which were mainly diesel, were stored in drums and gallons and hidden in different trailer parks in the state.
“Within the last two weeks, we have impounded about 16,000 litres of AGO from different spots in the state,” Mr Fadeyi said.
Addressing journalists on Monday, Mr Fadeyi said the products were confiscated following a directive from the commandant-general of NSCDC that some suspicious activities were going on in some parks.
The commandant said they went around trailer parks in Cross River and discovered that hawkers indeed had a lot of petroleum products stored in drums and hidden.
“Some of the places we went to, we met a lot of hostilities, so we make sure that we destroy the capacity of the perpetrators from continuing in the business and quickly exit the area to avoid human casualties.
“Some of these hawkers work like cartels. Once they see security officials, they attack and escape, but we make sure we impound the products,” he said.
Speaking further, Mr Fadeyi said he had reached out to the leadership of the parks, and their unions for a meeting as the activities of the hawkers had a negative impact on their integrity.
According to him, raiding the parks is not a witch-hunt but to send a strong message because of the negative impact of the activities of the hawkers on the nation’s economy and environment.
He commended the Nigerian Navy Ship Victory (NNSV) and Sector 4, Operation Delta Safe, for partnering with the corps by impounding and apprehending smugglers of petroleum products from Nigeria to Cameroon.
(NAN)
