By Francesca Hangeior.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has uncovered an illegal bunkering operation in a forested area of Umuedeokwara Community, Etche Local Government Area, Rivers State.
The discovery was made by the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad during an operation aimed at curbing oil theft in the region.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Corps spokesperson, Afolabi Babawale, on Tuesday.
The CG’s SIS Commander, Deputy Commandant, Appolos Dandaura, revealed that the operation was based on intelligence reports indicating the presence of an illegal refinery at the site.
According to Dandaura, the criminals were tapping into multinational oil pipelines, using fabricated and galvanized metallic pipes connected with inserted valves to siphon crude oil.
The stolen oil was then stored in large tarpaulin reservoirs and locally refined into automotive gas oil.
“Like we always reiterate that our operations are intelligence-based and we value every piece of information and preserve the integrity of our informants; we swung into action, combed the entire forest, and discovered where the suspects were refining crude oil locally after storage in large trampoline reservoirs and further packaged them in cellophane bags and sacks.
“The following exhibits were marked at the crime scene: about 20,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil stored in cellophane bags, large quantities of siphoned crude oil stored in tarpaulin reservoirs, different sizes of aluminium and plastic buckets, galvanized metallic fabricated pipes, heavy-duty industrial hoses and items of clothing belonging to the suspects,” Dandaura was quoted saying.
At the scene, the NSCDC squad also found various equipment used in the illegal operation, including aluminium and plastic buckets, heavy-duty industrial hoses, and clothing items believed to belong to the fleeing suspects.
Dandaura noted that the operation aligns with the directive of the NSCDC Commandant General, Ahmed Audi, to clamp down on illegal bunkering activities and ensure that those responsible are arrested and prosecuted.