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Nigeria nabs 9 foreigners in suspected oil theft

Xinhua, April 26, 2017 Adjust font size:

Nine foreigners have been identified among 10 suspected oil thieves arrested in Nigeria's Delta region on Tuesday, a navy commander said Wednesday.

An Indonesian, a Beninois, two Ukrainians, two Pakistanis and three Ghanaians were arrested with a Nigerian onboard a Panama-registered vessel carrying out the illegal activity early Tuesday, Navy Commander Ibrahim Dewu told reporters.

The suspects were caught siphoning crude oil into a vessel from a loading jacket operated by Shell Petroleum and Development Company, Dewu said.

He said about 2,000 metric tons of crude oil had been siphoned from the loading jacket before the suspects were caught.

They were arrested based on intelligence report three days after the Nigerian navy personnel opened a dragnet on them.

"The Nigerian among them is the Chief Officer while the Captain is a Pakistani," Dewu said.

According to him, a preliminary investigation showed that the vessel had been on Nigerian waters for two weeks, operating on the high sea during the day and going late at night to connect to the loading jacket to siphon crude oil.

The suspects and the vessel would be handed over to the authorities for prosecution after investigations, the official added. Endit