The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad (CG’s SIS) has intercepted an articulated DAF truck transporting huge quantities of vandalized rail track iron concealed inside iron scrap.
This was revealed in a statement on Thursday by the NSCDC‘s spokesman, Babawale Afolabi.
He stated that four people had been apprehended for further investigation and action in connection with the stolen goods.
“On August 14, 2023, at about 1030 hrs., the CG’s Special Intelligence Squad, who was on a specialized operation to checkmate the nefarious activities of rail line vandals, arrested four suspected vandals who disguised themselves as scavengers.
“It was later discovered that the suspects had vandalized rail track irons and concealed them inside scrap iron materials before loading the vandalized rail track irons into a truck that would convey them to the buyers,” Babawale said.
He stated that the truck and the four suspects were apprehended on Monday along the Lafia-Akwanga-Abuja motorway in Sabon Pagi, Lafia, Nasarawa State.
Anasi Ali, the truck driver, is 27 years old and one of the four suspected vandals. Yusuf Idris, 25, Hafis Idris, 18, and Nasiru Abdullahi, 28, worked as escorts.
“Items recovered from the vandals are a DAF truck, large quantities of offloaded scrap irons, and large quantities of vandalized railway irons,” Babawale added.
According to the NSCDC’s statement, preliminary investigations revealed that the rail track irons and sleepers were loaded in Makurdi, Benue State, and were on their way to an unnamed iron and steel company in Ilorin, Kwara State, before being halted and arrested.