Personnel of the Nigerian Navy have busted a massive illegal refining site in Okwuzi Community in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area of Rivers State.
The raid carried out under the “Operation Delta Sanity 2”, uncovered over 200,000 litres of stolen Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) worth millions of naira.
Speaking to journalists after the raid, Commander of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) PATHFINDER, Commodore Desmond Igbo, revealed that the discovery was made possible through meticulous intelligence gathering.
Igbo stated that Naval personnel uncovered a compound in the community where illicit activities were going on, adding that the compound was used as an illegal refining site, where siphoned crude oil from pipelines was refined into AGO, and stored in sacks, drums, and tanks in a poultry farm.
He said: “The discovery was made through a concerted effort of intelligence gathering. We discovered that the whole of this compound is being used as an illegal refining site.
“You can also recall that the Nigerian Navy, about two to three weeks ago, extended the Operation Delta Sanity, which is aimed at halting crude oil theft in Niger Delta. My men at the Nigerian Navy Ship NNS PATHFINDER, through our intelligence, we were able to discover this place.
“These illegally refined AGOs here, some bagged in sacks, some in drums and also in tanks, over two hundred thousand (200,000) litres, they are illegal products refined from crude oil siphoned from the pipelines.”
Igbo condemned the illegal refining activities as “too bad” and “not good enough” for Nigeria’s economy, labelling it “pure economic sabotage”.
The NNS PATHFINDER Commander said two suspects, including the owner of the compound, have been arrested with efforts were ongoing to apprehend all other parties involved, adding that the suspects will be handed over to prosecuting agencies.
He, however, noted that the Navy was resolute in its mission to eradicate crude oil theft, operating both on land and water to bring perpetrators to justice.
Igbo emphasised that with the leadership of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, the Navy was determined to fulfil its mandate and increase Nigeria’s oil output to meet the OPEC quota of at least 2.5 barrels per day.
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