The Nigerian Navy has recovered approximately 33,000 litres of products suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) from two illegal refining sites in Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The operation was carried out on September 6 by personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) PATHFINDER, according to the Director of Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folarunsho.
Folarunsho disclosed in a statement on Sunday that the recovered products were found at two illegal refining sites uncovered during the operation.
The naval team also discovered eight dugout pits, sacks and reservoirs believed to have been used in the illegal refining activities.
He said the sites and recovered products were subsequently handled in accordance with established procedures.
According to Folarunsho, the operation formed part of the Navy’s sustained efforts to prevent suspected illegal refiners from returning to locations where their activities had previously been disrupted.
He recalled that naval personnel had, on August 28 disrupted two illegal refining sites in the same area.
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Despite the earlier intervention, suspected operators reportedly attempted to re-establish their activities at the locations before the latest operation.
However, the operators fled before the arrival of the naval team, escaping arrest and abandoning the suspected illegally refined products and other materials at the sites.
Folarunsho said the continued operations were constraining the ability of suspected illegal refiners to revive and sustain their activities in the area.
The latest recovery forms part of the Nigerian Navy’s ongoing efforts to disrupt illegal refining and crude oil-related activities across the Niger Delta, where illicit refining remains a persistent challenge.
No arrest was made during the operation.
