Bright Isibor and Evelyn Eriamator, two middle-aged women, were detained by the Edo State Police Command on Friday for allegedly bypassing their prepaid meters in Benin.
During a routine search of the Benin metropolis, a team of police officers and employees from Benin Electricity Distribution PLC made the arrest while two other people fled.
Evelyn Gbiwen, the Corporate Communications Officer, explained the purpose of the exercise to journalists after it was completed in Benin.
Gbiwen said, “We just went on a drive to make sure those people who engage in criminal infractions on BEDC meters are brought to book. We did a petition to the Commissioner of Police and within 48 hours, he approved it.
“We want to keep arresting these people to serve as deterrent to those who are engaging in criminal infractions such as bypass, illegal connection, load diversion and others.
“The new management of the BEDC is not going to take kindly to any infraction that will lead into loss of revenue. We have a target to take this company out of the hood within a very, very short time.
“I want to thank the media for joining us in this crusade against those people who keep on stealing our energy. We want to make sure that whatever energy we sell, the revenue comes to the company not to individual pocket.
“We have just started, over the next few weeks about 14 people will be arrested and prosecuted we have already identified them,” she said.
She added that the process was still going on in Edo, Delta, Ondo, and Ekiti and that the focus was on dishonest employees.
