The transport section of Dangote Cement Ibese Plant, has intercepted one of the company’s truck loaded with contrabands in Ibadan, arrested the drivers and handed them over the Nigerian Customs Service, NSC, for further investigation and prosecution.
The arrest was effected by a team of the company’s security personnel led by its Chief Security Officer who acted on intelligence, bordering on misconduct by some of its drivers.
While handing over the driver and his motoboy to the Customs Authority, Ali Garba, assistant general manager, Security Services, explained that the company has a surveillance section that monitors all his trucks and the activities of its drivers.
“On 7th June 2017 at about 1820 hours, intelligence information received by Dangote Senior Drivers Ibese led to the interception of Dantrans truck No KMC 38 XR / ICT-13A-083 driven by a former and dismissed driver Ismaila Abubakar.The truck was loaded with frozen Turkey allegedly loaded at Iyana Isolo, Lagos State heading to Benin City Edo State,” said Garba.
He further revealed that while Nasiru H. Ahmed 284393 is the bonafide driver of truck KMC 38 XR / ICT-13A-083, preliminary investigation revealed that on 2nd June 2017 Ahmed loaded 900 bags of cement for Benin Depot. “At Kara Garage in Benin City, Nasiru H. Ahmed dropped from the vehicle and travelled to Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State leaving the truck in the care of his motorboys:  Bilyaminu Abdullahi and Bashiru with the dismissed driver Ismaila Abubakar. Unfortunately for the bonafide driver, Ismaila Abubakar drove the truck from Kara to Benin Depot for offloading the cement after removing truck tracking system and left it in Benin City,” He stated.
He added: “Investigation revealed further that instead of driving straight to the Plant they decided to go to Iyana-Isolo in Lagos State to lift frozen turkey to Benin City at the cost of three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N350,000.00), out of which only Seventy Thousand Naira (N70,000.00) was paid as part-payment.”
It would be recalled that the company recently declared 285 of its truck drivers wanted over theft of about 3.5 million customized tyres belonging to the company.
Abdullahi Magaji, a retired Commissioner of Police, coordinator of the company’s National Patrol Unit, who disclosed this said each tyre of the company had an identification number and the number was registered against the driver’s name at collection point.
According to him then, “Already, 285 drivers identified to have collected 285 tyres have been declared wanted while a number of others are on the run… we have stopped their salaries and we are looking for them. So far, about 3.5 million tyres are missing from the company and we believe they are in circulation within and outside the country. We are determined to recover them…We are appealing to those patronising the drivers and who encouraged them to steal our tyres to stop forthwith. Dangote tyres are customised and marked. Dealers and vulcanisers should please beware…People should ensure that the tyres they buy either as new or second hand are not customised Dangote tyres. We have arraigned some drivers and dealers caught with tyres and efforts are being made to arrest vulcanisers involved,” he said.
Magaji said security agents are presently on the trail of an identified kinpin who comes to Obajana and Kano to buy the tyres of the drivers. “Our appeal to vulcanisers is to always look out for our logo on the tyres and report accordingly,” the coordinator said.