Chuks Oyema-Aziken
Troops of ‘Operation DAKATAR DA BARAWO’ have successfully continued onslaught against crude oil product thieves in the Niger Delta region.
Briefing journalists on Thursday, Major-General Musa Danmadami, Director, Defence Media Operations, said troops recovered stolen crude products worth N2.4bn from oil thieves in 2 weeks.
According to the Director, “between 23 – 30 October 2022”, troops “discovered and destroyed 11 illegal refineries, 107 metal storage tanks, 5 wooden boats, 58 dugout pits, 38 ovens, 6 fibre boats, 28 reservoirs, 15 jerrycans, 2 pumping machines, 20,000 brls of crude oil and 167,900 litres of Automotive Gas Oil”.
“Cumulatively, within the weeks under review, oil thieves were denied a total of 54,547 brls of crude oil, 817, 900 litres of Automotive Gas Oil, 5,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit and 10,000 litres of Dual Purpose Kerosine amounting to the sum of Two Billion Four Hundred and Thirty Five Million Twenty One Thousand Three Hundred Forty Three Naira Ninety Four Kobo (N2,435,021,343.94),” he added.
In another separate operation in Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers states between October 20 – 2 November, Danmadami informed that troops “discovered and destroyed 57 illegal refining sites, 35 wooden boats, 304 storage tanks, 172 cooking ovens, 12 dugout pits, 5 drums, 2 reservoirs, 2 illegal bunkering camp and 6 illegal bunkering boats. Troops also recovered 34,547 barrels of crude oil, 650,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil, 5,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, 10,000 litres of Dual Purpose Kerosine, 7 pumping machines, 7 vehicles, 5 motorcycles, 1 double barrel gun, 2 live cartridges and arrested 5 pipeline vandals”.
He said troops of Operation Delta Safe and other subsidiary operations have discovered and deactivated more than 70 illegal refining sites in the last two weeks within Delta, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers.
