Personnel of the Nigerian Navy have launched an attack at an illegal refineries camp in Rivers State where huge amounts of suspected crude oil and refined diesel were recovered as part of a joint military campaign against illegal crude oil theft.
Conducted by operatives of Nigerian Navy Ship SOROH in a coordinated anti-crude operation codenamed ‘Operation DELTA SENTINEL’, the raiding team targeted an illegally rebuilt refining facility which was situated around the Egboama/Ogbogolo Community in Ahoada West Local Government Area.
In a press release by the Nigerian Navy dated recently according to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the raiding exercise was informed by intelligence reports showing renewed activity in the creek area around Rivers-Bayelsa border axis.
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It is stated that the exercise was conducted using combined ground and water approach supported with an aerial observation platform for locating the hiding places of the refining camps.
About 5,500 liters of crude oil and 3,000 liters of automotive gas oil were recovered during the operation.
Other materials that were reportedly utilized during the process of stealing oil were also seized, such as generators, welding machines, and others which were thought to be used to construct new refining facilities.
Findings at the location indicated deliberate efforts from criminal syndicates to restore refining installations that had been destroyed before by the security operatives.
All refining points identified were disabled according to procedure, and there had been an increase in the monitoring of the creek waters nearby so that they could not come back again to steal oil.
Navy stated their continuous intelligence-led mission of stopping crude oil thefts and destruction of illegal refining camps in the Niger Delta.
