Military destroys 167 illegal refineries, arrests 18 alleged oil thieves

The Defence Headquarters has disclosed that the troops of Operation Delta Safe and Operation Dakatar da Barawo, discovered and destroyed 167 illegal refineries in Niger Delta in three weeks.

The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Bernard Onyeuko, said this while briefing newsmen on the operations of the armed forces between April 28 and May 19, on Thursday in Abuja.

In Operation Delta Safe, Onyeuko said the troops destroyed 17 illegal refineries with five wooden boats, 89 storage tanks, 59 ovens, 12 dugout pits, six pumping machines, five trucks, two outboard engines and two weapons.

He said a total of 778,500 litres of crude oil, 840,300 litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and 625 litres of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) were also recovered.

He added that 18 criminals were also arrested during the period, adding that all recovered items and apprehended criminals were handed over to the appropriates authorities for further investigation.

According to him, troops in conjunction with Nigerian Drug Law enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested some drug suspects during raid operations in their hideout in Effurum in Urwie Local Government Area of Delta State.

“Items recovered from them include 2.460kg of cannabis, 0.0703kg of cocaine, 0.054kg of meth, 0.067kg of loud, 0.654kg of cannabis seeds, one tablet of molly, one pump action with 15 cartridgs, a toyota hilux and Mercedes Benz car,” he said.

In Operation Dakatar da Barawo, Onyeuko said that the troops destroyed 150 illegal refineries with 59 ovens, 67 metal storage tanks and four wooden cotonou boats.

He said the operations also led to the recovery of one Yamaha engine, one generator, three pumping machines, 20,000 litres of kerosine, 1.6 million litres of AGO and 2.05 million litres of crude oil.

According to him, all recovered items have been handed over to the appropriate authorities for further action.