Men of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) yesterday arrested 15 men for “illegally” operating a fishing trawler on the Calabar, Cross River State, waterways.
[dropcap type=”1″]P[/dropcap]arading the suspects and the vessel at the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Victory Jetty in Calabar, ENC’s Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Rear Admiral Atiku Abdulkadir said they were arrested at the Calabar Fairway Buoy.
Those arrested included 14 Nigerians and a Ghanaian, who allegedly had no documents.
The FOC said the vessel was on sea without relevant documents, thus posing security threats to the area.
He said: [pull_quote_center]“From security point of view, it can be taken over by pirates. This can become a problem for others. This ship is not on any of our cleared lists to be on the sea.”[/pull_quote_center]
Abdulkadir said the suspects and the vessel would be handed over to the relevant authorities, after investigation.
The vessel’s captain, Martin Baleta, who said he was from Badagry, admitted he was operating without relevant documents.