Read How Arik Air Staff Was Caught Stealing At Airport

Mr. Osita Chidoka, the Aviation Minister, on Monday February 16 said the ministry has arrested three staff of Arik Air for stealing fuel from a plane Premium Times reports.

Chidoka disclosed this on his official Facebook page that, a group of three people, Blessing Dugbe, Samuel Asuquo and Isaac Ajakaiye were arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, during a security patrol operation on Sunday February 15 around 3 a.m.

eShud9fTGNUsdU8KkBqldbIt (1)

He said the three people were stealing Jet A1 fuel from Arik Air plane, with registration number: 5N-MID into six kegs for sale at a cheaper price to other unsuspecting airline operators.

“A development that has capacity, to threaten safety and security of airplanes. Meanwhile, the three (3) suspects were handed over to the Crime Investigation Bureau (CIB), AVSEC MMIA for further action,”  he said.

Chidoka said that in the aviation industry’s fight against corruption and security breaches, other chief security officers and heads of aviation security have been alerted and directed to intensify patrol and surveillance operations at various airports across the country.

He said considering the importance of the crime to the security and safety of airplanes, the chief security officer of the Lagos airport has been asked to ensure that the suspects are handed over to the airport police for adequate prosecution.

This is not the first time that Arik staff are accused of theft. Passengers have often lamented the loss of one item or the other aboard the airline’s flights.

In an exclusive report by Premium Times in June 2014, some passengers complained how they lost items from iPad, jewelries, clothes to perfumes.

Popular Nigerian blogger, Japhet Omojuwa, once accused the airline’s flight attendants of stealing his iPad aboard one of its planes.

The airline is yet to officially comment on the latest incident.

However it would be recalled that a Nigerian passenger, who was traveling on Business Class from Abuja to Enugu aboard Arik Air was caught stealing mid air.

Source: Naij