CRUDE OIL THEFT: NSCDC NABS 9 SUSPECTS, DISMANTLES 3 MASSIVE ILLEGAL BUNKERING SITES IN RIVERS-ABIA BOUNDARY
With firm determination to salvage the nation’s economy from saboteurs perpetrating acts of illegal dealings in petroleum products; the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps’ Commandant General, Ahmed Abubakar Audi has commended the efforts of the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad (CG’s SIS) for the arrest of 9 suspects for their alleged involvement in Pipeline Vandalism, operating illegal local refineries and crude oil theft.
The National Public Relations Officer of the Corps, Babawale Afolabi revealed this in a Statement in Abuja.
Narrating the ordeal of effecting the arrest of the 9 suspects in a very massive thick forest at Ommuma/Owaza forest- a boundary between Rivers and Abia States; the CG’s SIS Commander, DC Appolos Dandaura said the Squad placed a strategic surveillance on the crime scene based on the Corps’ resolve to wage relentless war against vandals and oil thieves.
“Based on sustained intelligence we placed strategic surveillance on the crime scene and apprehended 9 suspects in the act of illegally refining stolen crude extracted from a vandalized Oil Well Head; we also discovered an ongoing construction of a local refinery with the capacity to produce 60,000 litres of crude at once”.
“While on operational tour across the terrain, we uncovered about 3 well constructed illegal local refineries where crude is being siphoned through the vandalized well head with large hoses connected to transmit crude to Cooking ovens and later channelled to reservoirs after processing; thereafter loading is finally done “.
“Visibly at the massive illegal bunkering site you will notice how large hoses and galvanized metal pipes were laid to transfer stolen crude across the processing channels; the site occupied over 15 Modular ovens with 4 fabricated reservoirs and 30 pits dug out to store processed AGO”.
“The names of the Suspects arrested are Oghene Wede (M) 32years, Moses James (M) 25years, Chidi Nwosu (M) 53years, Samuel John (M) 24years, Emmanuel Paul (M) 20years, Oghenevo Nwebi (M) 43years, Martina Whinnypeter (F) 38Years, Nwabuchi Nwogu (M) 41 years and David Okere (M) 20years”.
DC Appolos further relayed that some exhibits recovered during the operations are: RWD 5.0 GFE-6500 Power Generating Set, 2 Yellow Colour Pumping Machines, Metal and Plastic buckets, Cutlasses, Saw, Mats, Welding Machine, Galvanized metal pipes, different heavy-duty hoses, Head flashlights, some Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) illegally processed in cooking ovens.
“Investigation has commenced to unravel the level of involvement of each of the suspects and their sponsors; at the end of our thorough investigation; the Suspects would be charged to court to serve as deterrent to others”.
