N/Delta: Troops Uncover Massive Dumps With Illegally Refined Products
By Anne Osemekeh, Abuja
Troops of 6 Division, Nigerian Army(NA) have uncovered massive dumps, where illegally refined products worth over 200,000 litres were stored across various locations in Bayelsa and Rivers States.
Lt. Col. Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, 6 Division’s Acting spokesman, made this known in a statement on Thursday.
He said that the discovery in Bayelsa state was made at Dasaba Creek, where 1 illegal refining site, 1 oven and a massive metal reservoir containing products suspected to be stolen crude oil estimated at over 110,000 litres was uncovered.
In Rivers state, troops, in a painstakingly conducted operation, swooped on over 33,000 litres being siphoned into a tank. The troops traced an interconnected hose to a tank from Indorama (Eleme Petrochemicals) pipeline, far behind the fence in the bush.
Several items where also recovered from the sites including two pumping machines, long hose and eleven drums used to perpetrate criminality in the general area.
Relatedly, troops of 63 Brigade, Nigerian Army, while on routine patrols, successfully intercepted trucks ladened with products suspected to be stolen crude in Delta state.
According to Danjuma, the arrest was made at SEPLAT Energy Nigeria Ltd trunkline, Mosogar. During the operation, the truck was discovered to have over 30000 litres of stolen products. The trucks have been handled in line with the subsisting mandate of Operation DELTA SAFE in the Niger-Delta region.
Similarly, troops of 16 Brigade, Nigerian Army, intercepted a truck with Reg No Delta UDH 983 XR along road Elebele-Emeyal in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The truck was also ladened with over 30,000 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude.
Furthermore, troops deployed at Cawthorne Channel 1, in conjunction with other security agencies successfully deactivated one illegal refining site with over 5,500 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude. The site was located close to Well Head 8, behind Glisten Community in Degema LGA, Rivers State.
Danjuma said that the breakthroughs recorded are addition to other seizures made within the general area, adding that 4 suspects have so far been arrested along Udoni Obiafu in Onne LGA.
The suspects are, Freedom Effiong, Behaviour Power, Timothy Onyebuchi and Loveth Ifeanyi, who he said, will all be handed over to relevent agencies for prosecution.
“These feats are results of the renewed effort by troops to effectively clampdown on economic saboteurs and their collaborators. Accordingly, members of the public are please enjoined to provide actionable intelligence on the activities of these economic saboteurs in their vicinity to security agencies”, the statement said.
