The Assistant Superintendent of Police Operations attached at the Ross Road Police Pat Betts, together with the superintendent for export division Sheik Manso Conteh and independent witnesses, yesterday witnessed the inspection of a container at the Queen Elizabeth II Quay alleged to have contained ban scrap metals.
The container is owned by one Patrick Culdron, the head of PJC international, a smelting company.
It was alleged by some people that go under the umbrella of scrap metal association that PJC International was exporting illicit scrap metals even when a ban had been slammed on scrap metals.
The container in question had been inspected and checked by the National Revenue Authority (NRA), and had been scanned and certified by the police two weeks ago.
However, there continued to be claims and counter-claims that the container contained ban substances.
So with directives from police headquarters, a re-examination of the contents of the containers was authorized.
“I saw only aluminum and ingots in the container as opposed to the claims that the container was containing copper,” said ASP Operations Pat Betts. The superintendent for export division also confirmed that what thy saw in the containers was only aluminum and not copper or iron.
Mr Patrick said, “I being hounded by people who do not want to see clean business in this country. They are afraid of legitimate business competition that is why they are spreading false rumours.”
He said he registered his smelting business with the ministry of Trade and Industry and that he was not exporting scrap but manufactured aluminum bars from his smelting company.
Mr Patrick averred that the people who said they were part of the Scrap Metal Association were not even registered and they were the ones who cut down the National Power Authority’s cables.
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