Troops of 6 Div. intercept trucks with stolen crude in Niger Delta

• Burst reservoirs with over 200,000 litres of illegal products

Emmanuel Nlewedum, Port Harcourt

The Nigerian Army said troops of 6 Division have intercepted trucks ladened with products suspected to be stolen crude in Delta and Rivers States of the Niger Delta region.

The troops also uncovered massive dumps, where illegally refined products worth over two hundred thousand (200,000) litres were stored across various locations in Bayelsa and Rivers States.

Acting Deputy Director, Public Relations, 6 Division Nigerian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma Jonah Danjuma disclosed this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Thursday.

Danjuma disclosed that troops of 63 Brigade, Nigerian Army, while on routine patrols, successfully intercepted and arrested trucks ladened with products suspected to be stolen crude in Delta State.

He said the trucks which were arrested at SEPLAT Energy Nigeria Ltd trunkline, Mosogar was discovered to be ladened with over 30,000 litres of stolen products.

The Spokesperson of the 6 Division, Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma further disclosed that the troops of 16 Brigade, Nigerian Army, also intercepted a truck with Reg No Delta UDH 983 XR, ladened with over 30,000 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude along Elebele-Emeyal Road in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

Additionally, Danjuma said troops deployed at Cawthorne Channel 1, in conjunction with other security agencies also successfully deactivated one illegal refining site located close to Well Head 8, behind Glisten Community in Degema LGA, Rivers State, with over 5,500 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude.

On the discovery of massive dumps, where over 200,000 litres of illegally refined products were stored, he said one oven and a massive metal reservoir containing products suspected to be stolen crude oil estimated at over 110,000 litres were uncovered at an illegal refining site at Dasaba Creek in Bayelsa State.

He noted that troops of the division also swooped on over 33,000 litres being siphoned into a tank in Rivers State.

He said the operation was painstakingly conducted by troops, who traced an interconnected hose to a tank from Indorama (Eleme Petrochemicals) pipeline, far behind the fence in the bush.

Items such as; two pumping machines, long hose and eleven drums used to perpetrate criminality in the general area were said to be recovered from the sites.

Also, in line with the operations, he noted that four suspects; Freedom Effiong, Behaviour Power, Timothy Onyebuchi and Loveth Ifeanyi were arrested along Udoni Obiafu in Onne LGA.

He said, the breakthroughs recorded were in addition to other seizures made within the general area. “These feats are results of the renewed effort by troops to effectively clampdown on economic saboteurs and their collaborators. Accordingly, members of the public are please enjoined to provide actionable intelligence on the activities of these economic saboteurs in their vicinity to security agencies.”