The Nigerian Navy personnel have uncovered a large cache of suspected illegally refined diesel hidden in a forest in Rivers State, recovering approximately 63,290 litres of the product along with a vehicle believed to have been used in its distribution.
The operation, conducted under the Navy’s ongoing Operation Delta Sentinel, was carried out by personnel from Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) SOROH acting on intelligence reports of illicit petroleum movement within the Orashi Forest corridor in the Okolomade axis of Abua-Odual Local Government Area.
During the operation, a silver Toyota Camry was intercepted and found to be carrying 17 sacks of suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), commonly known as diesel. A subsequent search of the surrounding forest vegetation uncovered an additional 56 sacks of the product hidden across multiple concealed stockpile locations.
In total, 73 sacks containing an estimated 63,290 litres of suspected illegal AGO were recovered alongside the vehicle, which was secured for further investigation.
The Nigerian Navy’s Director of Naval Information, Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, disclosed in a statement on Monday that the discovery illustrated a pattern by criminal networks of exploiting remote forest corridors and concealed storage points to move illegally refined petroleum products from source areas into wider distribution channels.
The statement said the recovered products were handled in accordance with existing regulations, without specifying their disposition.
The operation forms part of Navy’s broader effort under Operation Delta Sentinel to disrupt what it described as the illicit petroleum value chain, a network of crude oil theft, illegal refining and black-market distribution that authorities say cost Nigeria significant revenue every year.
The Navy said it remained committed to sustaining intelligence-driven operations to deny economic saboteurs’ freedom of action and protect the nation’s petroleum resources from criminal exploitation.
