The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested 13 Chinese Nationals in Ilorin, Kwara State, for crimes related to unlawful mining operations.
The commission’s Media and Publicity head, Mr Wilson Uwuajaren, make this known in a statement on Thursday.
According to the statement, the suspects, who included a female and 12 males, were apprehended on Wednesday, July 12, at the Government Reserved Area, G.R.A Ilorin, after credible pieces of information about their unlawful activities, which included but were not limited to illegal mining and non-payment of royalties to the Federal Government as required by law.
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“Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) Ilorin Zonal Command, have arrested 13 Chinese nationals for offences bordering on illegal mining in the State,”. The crime violates and is penalized under Section 1(8)(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, 1983.
“Others are Ma Jan (38), Wendy Wei Suqin (31), Li Zhinguo Wei (29) and Xie Zhinguo (53).
“Prior to their arrest, discrete investigations on the activities of illegal mining operators in Kwara State revealed that the operators have different illegal mining sites in almost all the 16 Local Government Areas of the State.
“Upon interrogation, the arrested suspects confessed to being workers of a Chinese Company known as W. Mining Global Service Limited situated at Olayinka in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
“It was gathered that the company was using the illegally mined crude to produce marble and sell locally within Nigeria. Findings also revealed that some of the suspects working in the said company were without ‘work permit’, but only came with ‘visit permit’ from China to Abuja and travelled by road to Ilorin,” EFCC said.
The suspects would be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of the ongoing investigations.
