Nigerian troops have arrested 69 suspected oil thieves, dismantled nine illegal refining sites, and recovered 32,000 litres of petroleum products. Lt. Col. Jonah Danjuma, the acting Deputy Director of the army, disclosed this in Port Harcourt on Sunday night.
Lt. Col. Danjuma noted that all arrested suspects had been handed over to relevant security agencies for prosecution. He revealed in a statement that confiscated products were being handled in line with existing operational guidelines.
Talking about the operation, he said the operations were carried out across Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom states. Danjuma said the troops intercepted two trucks with over 15,000 litres of illegally refined Oil in Delta State, and arrested three suspects.
Read also:Ex Army chief calls for return of military discipline through NYSC
Additionally, 16 cellophane bags filled with AGO, several drums and four jerricans of illegally refined AGO were seized. The army boss revealed that three refining sites were deactivated at Kilometre 45 in Degema LGA of Rivers State. Similarly, 7,000 litres of stolen products were recovered by the troops during the two-week operation.
Another refining site was also dismantled in a similar operation in Akankurma Okoloma, Okrika LGA. The dismantling led to the arrest of three suspects and the confiscation of 5 drums filled with crude oil.
Furthermore, along the Imo River axis, two refining sites were destroyed with four drum pots. Two receivers and over 2,000 litres of stolen products were reportedly recovered from the operation.
Along with this, soldiers uncovered a site at Biseni, Yenagoa LGA, in Bayelsa state containing two large reservoirs of crude oil. Meanwhile, in Akwa Ibom, the Army said dominance of operational areas was maintained to deny criminal elements freedom of action.
