Military Apprehend 21 Suspected Oil Crooks, Destroy 57 Illegal Refineries
According to Defense Headquarters, the soldiers of Operation Delta Safe have demolished 57 illegal refineries in three weeks and captured 21 oil thieves in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers.
Major-General Musa Danmadami, the Director of Defence Media Activities, announced this while providing an update on military operations on Thursday in Abuja.
According to Mr. Danmadami, during that time the troops also demolished 953 cooking ovens, 68 wooden boats, 172 storage tanks, and 149 dugout pits.
During Operation Octopus Grip, he claimed, the troops also found 445,000 liters of crude oil, 1.04 million liters of automotive gas oil, 22,000 liters of premium motor spirit (PMS), and 2,000 liters of dual-purpose kerosine.
He claimed that 63 vehicles, 14 motorcycles, one tricycle, three bicycles, 11 pumping machines, and three outboard engines were all seized in addition to eight tankers, two speed boats, and one thug boat.
He continued by saying that throughout the time period under consideration, 21 oil thieves and pipeline vandals were also caught.
“Overall, oil thieves in the region were denied of N713.6 million during the focused weeks.
According to him, “the significant amount of illegal crude oil and other petroleum products recovered and burned and the number of arrested oil thieves and pipeline vandals reflects the unrelenting efforts by the troops of Operation Delta Safe in denying them freedom of action.”
Mr. Danmadami claimed that in the South-East, the military and other security forces in the region neutralized seven criminals, detained 25 others, and freed eight kidnapped civilians.
He added that in addition, the troops found five AK-47 rifles, eight pump action rifles, three pistols made locally, three dane guns, and a number of hand grenades made locally, some of which had chains and leg cuffs.
He claims that the relevant authority has received all recovered items, rescued civilians, and apprehended criminals for further action.
He claimed that during Operation Swift Response in the South-West, the Operation AWATSE troops found 1,680 (50 kg) bags of foreign rice, 997 jerrycans of 30 liters of PMS, one truck, two golf cars, bales of used clothing, among other things.
Two criminal elements were also detained by the troops, according to Mr. Danmadami, during the operation.
According to him, all recovered items had been given to the Nigerian Custom Services, and the criminals who had been apprehended had been given to the appropriate authority for further action.
