- The suspects were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Zonal Command in Uyo.
Five Chinese nationals have been apprehended in Akwa Ibom State over illegal mining at Ndito-Eka-Iba village in Ibeno Local Government Area of the State.
The suspects were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Zonal Command in Uyo.
EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, said the suspects were arrested by the Commission’s Special Task Force on August 29 and September 10.
The suspects are Zhon Qinping, Li Yi, Xie Bin, Chen Mou Zhou and Chen Zeng.
According to Oyewale, they were all arrested at an illegal mining site of a mineral suspected to be ilmenite, a titanium-iron oxide mineral at Ibeno.
He said the suspects would be charged to court upon completion of investigations.
Parts of the statement read, “Operatives of the Uyo Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, have arrested five suspected illegal Chinese miners at Ndito-Eka-Iba village, in Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
“The five alleged illegal miners were arrested by the “Special Task Force on illegal Mining” at the Commission’s Zonal office in Uyo, following credible intelligence on the illegal activities of foreign mining companies within Eket and Ibeno Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State.
“They were all arrested at an illegal mining site of a mineral suspected to be ilmenite, a titanium- iron oxide mineral.”