DSS apprehend two suspected sea pirates in Bayelsa

Operatives of the Department of State Services have arrested two suspected members of a sea piracy syndicate in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

The suspects were picked up on Saturday at a hotel located on Tenacious Street in the Edepie area of the city.

Sources within the service, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to talk to the media, said the arrests were based on intelligence reports.

According to the officials, the suspects were allegedly at the final stage of planning an attack to hijack a crude oil-laden vessel in the Gulf of Guinea.

One of the sources said preliminary intelligence and confessional statements revealed that the suspects, alongside other members of the group, planned to seize a vessel, abduct its crew and steal its cargo.

“Operatives of the DSS on Saturday arrested two suspected members of a band of sea pirates in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State, as they were fine-tuning plans to hijack a crude oil-laden vessel in the Gulf of Guinea.

“Preliminary intelligence, corroborated by the suspects’ confessional statements, revealed that the men, along with other band members, were plotting to seize a vessel, abduct its crew, and steal its cargo.

“The duo have admitted to being part of a high-profile criminal network operating in the South East and South South parts of Nigeria, mainly profiting from sea piracy and kidnapping,” the source said.

Another source disclosed that the DSS, working with the Nigerian Navy and other security agencies, had intensified intelligence-led operations to address maritime security challenges in the region.

The source added that recent efforts included the interception of pirate speedboats and the rescue of crew members from hijacked vessels off the coasts of Bayelsa and Delta States.

The source said the arrests added to recent security successes in the region.

“Recent successes include the interception of several pirate speedboats and the rescue of crew members from hijacked vessels off the coasts of Bayelsa and Delta States,” the source said.

The DSS had also, in separate joint operations with other security agencies and forest guards about a week earlier, rescued abducted pastors and other victims in Kaduna and Borno States.

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