Naval Troops Destroy Illegal Refining Sites, Arrest 37 Miners in Bayelsa
Personnel of the Nigerian Navy have destroyed an illegal oil refining site and arrested 37 suspected illegal miners during separate operations in the Niger Delta as part of intensified efforts to curb crude oil theft and economic sabotage in the region.
The operations were carried out under Operation Delta Sentinel by personnel of NNS Pathfinder and NNS Soroh in Rivers and Bayelsa states.
In a statement issued by the Director of Naval Information, Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, the Navy said the illegal refining site was discovered during an anti-crude oil theft patrol around the Ojekiri general area in Rivers State.
According to the statement, the patrol team from NNS Pathfinder uncovered the illegal refinery along the Alakiri River where about 10 dugout pits containing an estimated 45,000 litres of stolen crude oil were found.
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“The site and the stored crude oil were subsequently destroyed in accordance with extant operational procedures, while the suspected perpetrators fled the scene on sighting the naval personnel,” the statement said.
In a related operation, naval personnel from NNS Soroh arrested 37 suspected illegal miners at Anyama Jetty in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The suspects were apprehended while attempting to transfer an unspecified quantity of black sand from a wooden boat into two trucks waiting at the jetty.
The Navy said the suspects, along with the trucks, wooden boat and recovered mineral resources, were handed over to Operation Doo-Akpo for further investigation in line with the directive of the Bayelsa State Government prohibiting black sand mining.
The statement noted that the successful operations followed the directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Idi Abbas, for naval formations and units to intensify operations against crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and other forms of economic sabotage across Nigeria’s maritime domain.
The Nigerian Navy reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining the operational momentum of Operation Delta Sentinel through intelligence-driven patrols and enhanced surveillance aimed at safeguarding the nation’s critical economic assets.
By PRNigeria
