…says vehicle was hijacked illegally
…backs further investigation, suspends driver
Medbury Medical Services, owner of the ambulance illegally used to convey 10 cartons of stolen tramadol, has denied involvement.
The company, in a statement on Thursday, said that the driver hijacked the ambulance without permission.
Officials of the Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Area Command, on Wednesday announced the arrest of two suspects caught with 10 cartons of stolen tramadol conveyed in an ambulance at Apapa ports.
Medbury, a reputable industrial health provider responsible for emergency medical services to Apapa Warf had at all times stationed its ambulances within the terminal. The company had earlier discovered that the whereabouts of the driver and ambulance were unknown before the news broke.
The company stated that its ambulance was unlawfully hijacked by the perpetrators of the condemnable act.
The company also clarified that it has immediately suspended the driver and launched investigation into how the vehicle was used for the illegal activity.
The statement reads in part, “The initial assumption was that the driver had stolen the ambulance, but we were later informed that the driver had been intercepted by customs officers at the Port and Tramadol was discovered in the vehicle.
“We will like to clarify that the driver was at the time of the incident not authorised to move the vehicle out of the premises and acted on his own accord.
“We immediately provided a replacement, a fully equipped ambulance, as soon as we were notified of the incident and the driver involved has been suspended indefinitely, pending the report of the investigation.”
The statement added, “We are a law-abiding organisation and we will like to state that we are cooperating fully with the Nigerian Customs regarding this incident.”
The company commended moves by the Nigeria Customs to further investigate the matter stating,
“While the terminal interfaces with Nigerian Customs and the issue of investigation is ongoing, we are on standby to offer assistance within our capacity and knowledge on the issue as well as receive any useful information from the terminal on its perspective on the issue.
“The ambulance is a life-saving vehicle and was unlawfully hijacked and used to perpetuate this crime against the purpose for which it was purchased and assigned by our organisation,” it added.