Navy recovers boat, 828 bags of rice from smugglers

The Nigerian Navy has recovered 828 bags of smuggled rice, two 40 horsepower outboard engines, a pumping machine and a wooden boat used in transporting the contraband items.   However, the suspected smugglers were said to have escaped, leaving behind the contraband items and the boat at the bank of Mbo River when they caught sight […]

The Nigerian Navy has recovered 828 bags of smuggled rice, two 40 horsepower outboard engines, a pumping machine and a wooden boat used in transporting the contraband items. 

 However, the suspected smugglers were said to have escaped, leaving behind the contraband items and the boat at the bank of Mbo River when they caught sight of a naval gunboat. The Commanding Officer, Forward Operating Base, Ibaka in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Captain Yusuf Idris, said yesterday in Ibaka that the rice were transported into the country from the Republic of Cameroon, added that the command will continue to hunt down the smugglers as they have refused to stop the illicit trade. 

 While receiving the recovered items, the Customs Assistant Comptroller, Eastern Marine Command, Ali Garko, thanked the Nigerian Navy for its unwavering support in fighting smuggling within the Nigerian maritime territory.