Chiemelie Ezeobi
The Lagos State Police Command on Sunday said its operatives will continue to go more after landlords and other possible suspects with connection to the oil wells discovered over the weekend at the Ilasa area of the state.
Already, the five suspects picked up after the raid led by the Ilasa Divisional Police Officer, SP Oriyomi Oluwasanni, were said to have given some useful information to the police that would help in picking up others.
The landlords that were arrested were those fingered in the massive pipeline vandalism and illegal oil trade that was thriving in the area before intelligence by the DPO uncovered it.
The state Police Public Relations Spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police, who confirmed the manhunt for more suspects, said the command has launched a full scale investigation into the matter and would soon arrest more landlords.
She said, “The command has launched a full scale investigation into the matter. Investigation is still on. The arrested suspects are still being held and we would arrest more landlords.”
“The sealed houses where these illicit activities are taking place remains sealed until further notice.”
The command, through the Illasa Police Division had discovered 12 residential houses where water wells were turned to wells storing diesel for sale.
The syndicate, who are residents of the densely populated suburb, were exposed by the eagle eye of the DPO, who acting on intelligence swooped on them.
It was gathered that the DPO had gone undercover, pretending to be a buyer of the ill gotten petroleum products, had lured them before she and her men arrested them.
A visit to Abeokuta Close, off Ibadan Street, Ilasa at the weekend revealed that virtually all residential apartments on the street had water-wells turned into oil wells, from which they scooped petroleum products.
Checks also revealed that the suspects had connected water pumps into the wells, from which they pump the products, suspected to be diesel, into an overhead tank.
From the overhead tanks, the suspects then run it into jerrycans and then sell them off to the buyers under the cover of darkness.
Further details later
