Members of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have apprehended two Chinese nationals, Yang Chao, aged 39, and Xiao Jiang, aged 38, on suspicion of engaging in illegal mining activities.
They were arrested alongside Chidi Joseph Osuji, 48, suspected to be an accomplice in the illegal business.
Acting on intelligence reports, the suspects were monitored to their mining sites situated at Ogunmakin and Ogere, Ogun State, where they were apprehended following days of surveillance.
Initial inquiries revealed that Chao and Chidi are employed as a factory manager and machine operator, respectively, at Cruis Chemical Nigeria Limited in Ogunmakin, Ogun State, while Jiang serves as an assistant manager at John Odiba Multibiz in Ogere, Ogun State.
Operating as a syndicate, the suspects are purportedly involved in illegal mining activities, focusing on minerals like marble stone, white powder, lithium, and lepidolite, which they unlawfully transport abroad for personal profit.
Further investigations have linked the trio to the ownership of the solid minerals discovered in the possession of 41 individuals arrested at various locations, including Share, Banni, Lade, Patigi, and Okolowo in Kwara State, as well as Igbeti and Ogbomosho in Oyo State, by EFCC operatives from the Ilorin Zonal Command on February 5, 2024. These individuals were apprehended for engaging in mining activities without the necessary licenses.
In a separate development, the Ilorin Zonal Command of the EFCC has also detained three individuals—Sallah Asmau Wuraola, Owoduni Abdullahi Isa (alias Bolaji), who work as Point of Sale (PoS) cashiers, and Shuaibu Rukayat, a nurse from Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State—for allegedly vending new naira notes of various denominations to customers for commercial purposes.
Their arrest was prompted by credible intelligence regarding individuals selling new naira notes at event venues, nightclubs, hotels, and social gatherings without proper authorization.
Wuraola and Rukayat were found in possession of the sum of N1,220,000 (One Million, Two Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira Only), while Isa was apprehended with N150,000 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira Only).
The suspects would soon be charged to court.