PERIMETER - The Caldari Navy have confirmed the arrest of Wing Commander Sami Okuuda this afternoon, after several rumors began to circulate regarding his whereabouts.
Placed on administrative leave after the failure of Operation Spectre in November YC115, in which hundreds of Caldari loyal capsuleers suffered extensive combat losses, Okuuda was also involved in the failed defence of the Leviathan-class titan CN Shiigeru, which was destroyed in March last year during Operation Highlander.
At the same time, the Caldari Navy also confirmed the arrest and replacement of all eight of the 37th "Octopus" Squadron's non-commissioned officers, and that court-martials for a total of more than fifty senior service personnel would be forthcoming within seven days. These are in relation to failures of command during the administration of the Caldari Providence Directorate, and both Operation Highlander and Operation Spectre.
A well-known State Patriot and active supporter of the Caldari Providence Directorate, Wing Commander Okuuda was second-in-command during Operation Highlander, the battle that resulted in the largest and most expensive defeat the Caldari armed forces have faced in over a century.
Several members of the interstellar press were reported to have been forcibly removed from the Okuuda family's estate on New Caldari Prime by the Lai Dai Protection Service, following the refusal of Okuuda's son, an officer with the security megacorporation, to comment on his father's arrest.
The Caldari Navy also declined to comment further when asked to confirm rumours that Okuuda may face charges relating to the death of former Caldari Navy Admiral Visera Yanala.