The Nigerian Navy has intercepted a large consignment of suspected illegally refined diesel in Rivers State, recovering approximately 22,870 and seizing the wooden boat used to transport it.
The operation, carried out under the Navy’s ongoing anti-crude theft campaign, Operation Delta Sentinel, targeted the Orashi Forest area of Okolomade Community in Abua/Odual Local Government Area, a creek corridor bordering Ogbia Local Government Area in neighbouring Bayelsa State.
Personnel from Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) SOROH moved into the area on June 28, 2026 following credible intelligence reports of suspected movement of illegally refined petroleum products through the creek network.
On arrival, the patrol team intercepted a wooden boat carrying 36 sacks of suspected illegal AGO along an adjoining creek.
Operatives then deployed a drone for aerial surveillance, which revealed additional stockpiles concealed beneath vegetation and inside ponds in the surrounding area. A subsequent ground search uncovered a further 45 sacks hidden across multiple locations, bringing the total haul to 81 sacks.
According to the Navy, the recovered products and the vessel were processed in line with standard anti-crude oil theft procedures.
In a statement, Director of Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, said the “service remains resolute in sustaining intelligence-driven operations under Operation DELTA SENTINEL to dismantle crude oil theft networks, deny criminal elements freedom of action across the nation’s waterways, and protect Nigeria’s strategic economic assets.”
Illegal refinning, locally known as “kpofire” remains a persistent challenge across the Niger Delta, where criminal networks tap into pipelines, refine crude oil in makeshift bush refineries, and smuggle the products through the region’s vast creek system. The trade costs Nigeria billions of naira annually in lost oil revenue and causes severe environmental damage to surrounding communities.
