IN its renewed effort to curtail the menace of crude oil theft, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) yesterday paraded a Briton, Mr. Neveille Shaun Dring, before newsmen for alleged illegal bunkering.

Parading the 34-year old man at the Western Marine command, Ibafon, Apapa, Lagos, Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of enforcement, Mr. Ade Fadahunsi, said the Briton’s main business was collaborating with Nigerians to siphon crude oil from the nation’s oil wells.

According to him, Mr Shaun Dring was arrested on the high seas of Escravos, Delta State, while operating from a tug boat code-named Smith Siberie.

The British High Commission has already contacted the Nigerian Customs to release Mr. Dring, on bail but the Customs High Command insisted that the Briton must meet all conditions necessary for bail.

Mr. Fadahunsi who said the operation was carried out jointly by officials of the Western Marin Command and the Federal operations unit of the Customs, said the British oil bunkerer would soon be prosecuted.

The Customs boss warned smugglers that, "the game is up and we are not going to watch and see the nation’s economy plundered."

He said that before the recent arrest, officers and men of the Customs had trailed activities of the Briton with his collaborators for three days.

"We have been trailing their activities for the past three days, it was not easily possible to effect their arrest as we have to travel on sea for a distance of about 75 nautical miles," he stated.

Mr. Fadahunisi said that the Nigerian collaborators in the oil bunkering business evaded customs arrest but assured that they would soon be fished out.

It would be recalled that last Monday, the customs also in another ant-smuggling operation, seized contraband lace materials worth over one billion naira.

Reacting on the seizure, Fadahunsi said the materials were loaded at a waterside village in Togo and was destined for Oke-Arin market on Lagos Island.

He said that henceforth, smuggling will be difficult as the customs has been adequately equipped.