SSS nabs 2 Chinese illegal miners in Minna

Two  Chinese engaging  in illegal mining, excavating and exporting of gems to China for the past two years have been arrested and paraded by the Niger State command of the Department of State Security Services (SSS) in Minna.
According to Dr Larry Obiagwu, State Director of SSS,  the two Chinese suspects, Mr Lu Xiaoyong and Huaiming Geng, were alleged to have carried out their illegal activities with a Nigerian collaborator, Mohammed Bello, who was a mediator between the locals who dug for the precious  stones and the Chinese at Koyugba Village in Jere ward of Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State.
Obiagwu, at a media briefing on Monday in Minna, said the SSS placed surveillance in thick forests across the state and particularly at Paikoro following tip-offs.
“We confirmed in part by other sources. Command operatives, on June 14 24, 2013, invaded an illegal mine situated at Kutagba and saw Xiaoyong as he arrived the site in a 10-tonne capacity truck with registration number Kaduna XD928KA to pack already excavated gems for onward exportation to China.
“Xiaoyong was arrested with Mohammed Bello and they are being charged along with his accomplice, Huaiming Geng, who was apprehended at Okada Road in Minna as he attempted to escape in a Golf Volkswagen car with the registration number, Plateau AWN71AA. About 10 locals who were employed by the foreigners have been released on bail,” he said.
He added that the command’s investigation established that Geng and Xiaoyong had spent about N3 million in settling the local diggers engaged in excavation of the gem and had plans of illicitly developing other mining sites that abound in the state, but for their arrest.
The Chinese, according to Obiagwu, would be arraigned at the Federal High Court in tandem with laws of the land, and this is to serve as a deterrent to those foreigners who thrive on impunity.
Xiaoyong, who spoke through an interpreter, said he had been in Nigeria for the past two years doing the business of exportation with a registered company Fosta, claiming that he had a license to do the business in Nigeria and that he only went to Paikoro to buy the products.
It would be noted that their activities are against the Minerals and Mining Act of 2007, which prohibits exploration and or exploitation of minerals without authority.
In a related development, the SSS, after a sustained watch over a period of time, arrested four suspects, Makun Danladi Ibrahim (Spaco), Chindo Umar Salihu, Abdullahi Biodun Isah and John Bassey (Etim), over their alleged involvement in the vandalisation of armoured cables belonging to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), and Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL).
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