Two Chinese Nationals arrested in Niger State for Illegal Mining
Two Chinese national,LU Xiaoyong and Huaiming Geng have been arrested by the Department of State Service,DSS, Niger State command for their alleged involvement in illegal mining in the state.
Also arrested along with them are 11 Nigerians including one Mohammed Bello who had been serving as their collaborator while 10 others were employed by the foreigners as labourers. The Chinese, it was gathered, have been operating in the forests at Kotugba village in Jere ward of Paiokoro Local Government area of Niger State for over two years before nemesis caught up with them on Friday, June 14, 2013.
Addressing journalists in his office in Minna yesterday, the state director of DSS, Dr. Larry Obiagwu, said nemesis caught up with the leader of the gang, Lu Xiaoyong as he arrived the site of the illegal mining with a 10-ton truck capacity with registration number, Kaduna XD928KA to ferry out the already excavated Gem Stones for onward exportation to China.
The Nigerian collaborator, Mohammed Bello was also arrested along with the Chinese at the site while the other Chinese National, Huaiming Geng was later apprehended along Okada road, Minna, the state capital as he was attempting to escape in a Golf Volkswagen car with registration No Plateau State AWN 71AA.
“The command in its investigation has established that the two foreigners had already spent N3m in settling the local diggers engaged in excavation of the Gem Stones and have also concluded plans of illicitly developing other mining sites in the state before their arrest,” the DSS director disclosed.
Dr. Obiagwu however, revealed that the ten locally-employed labourers have been released on bail while the two foreigners will be arraigned before the Federal High Court in line with the Minerals and Mining Act of 2007 which prohibits exploration and or exploration of minerals without authority. Similarly, the command also paraded four suspects who were involved in stealing PHCN and NITEL armored cables.
Also arrested along with them are suspected buyers of the stolen cables. The suspected cable thieves are: Makun Danlami Ibrahim alias Spaco, Chindo Umar Salihu, Abdullahi Biodun Isah and John Bassey Victor alias Etim.
Dr. Obiagwu told journalists that the cables were stolen within Minna metropolis and sold at Panteka Market also in Minna adding that the theft had caused serious damage to both PHCN and NITEL transactions in the state.
According to the director, “Our investigation showed that Makun Danlami Ibrahim is the leader of the gang and recruited others using his barbing salon in Minna as a front and point of recruitment while Bassey John was invited to join the gang from Lagos. He was responsible for the supply of a heavy duty jack for lifting of concrete slab and a hand jack which were used in drawing out underground cables.”
There was a mild drama at the director’s office when the two Chinese were about to be paraded before journalists when the leader of the gang Xiaoyong shouted and queried why they were brought out to be paraded.
Vanguard
Also arrested along with them are 11 Nigerians including one Mohammed Bello who had been serving as their collaborator while 10 others were employed by the foreigners as labourers. The Chinese, it was gathered, have been operating in the forests at Kotugba village in Jere ward of Paiokoro Local Government area of Niger State for over two years before nemesis caught up with them on Friday, June 14, 2013.
Addressing journalists in his office in Minna yesterday, the state director of DSS, Dr. Larry Obiagwu, said nemesis caught up with the leader of the gang, Lu Xiaoyong as he arrived the site of the illegal mining with a 10-ton truck capacity with registration number, Kaduna XD928KA to ferry out the already excavated Gem Stones for onward exportation to China.
The Nigerian collaborator, Mohammed Bello was also arrested along with the Chinese at the site while the other Chinese National, Huaiming Geng was later apprehended along Okada road, Minna, the state capital as he was attempting to escape in a Golf Volkswagen car with registration No Plateau State AWN 71AA.
“The command in its investigation has established that the two foreigners had already spent N3m in settling the local diggers engaged in excavation of the Gem Stones and have also concluded plans of illicitly developing other mining sites in the state before their arrest,” the DSS director disclosed.
Dr. Obiagwu however, revealed that the ten locally-employed labourers have been released on bail while the two foreigners will be arraigned before the Federal High Court in line with the Minerals and Mining Act of 2007 which prohibits exploration and or exploration of minerals without authority. Similarly, the command also paraded four suspects who were involved in stealing PHCN and NITEL armored cables.
Also arrested along with them are suspected buyers of the stolen cables. The suspected cable thieves are: Makun Danlami Ibrahim alias Spaco, Chindo Umar Salihu, Abdullahi Biodun Isah and John Bassey Victor alias Etim.
Dr. Obiagwu told journalists that the cables were stolen within Minna metropolis and sold at Panteka Market also in Minna adding that the theft had caused serious damage to both PHCN and NITEL transactions in the state.
According to the director, “Our investigation showed that Makun Danlami Ibrahim is the leader of the gang and recruited others using his barbing salon in Minna as a front and point of recruitment while Bassey John was invited to join the gang from Lagos. He was responsible for the supply of a heavy duty jack for lifting of concrete slab and a hand jack which were used in drawing out underground cables.”
There was a mild drama at the director’s office when the two Chinese were about to be paraded before journalists when the leader of the gang Xiaoyong shouted and queried why they were brought out to be paraded.
Vanguard
Two Chinese Nationals arrested in Niger State for Illegal Mining
Reviewed by Msl
on
08:09
Rating:
Reviewed by Msl
on
08:09
Rating:
No comments: